A Vision for Sight
by The FalconWolf
Summary: "Senses are our everything take away one and we're left weak. But by removing a wolf's vision it opens up doorways to skills and unique gifts to strengthen us. Everything is tuned finely and sensitively bringing forwards opportunities to reach that which we could not see. I'm Daria, I didn't know it then but there was a reason I was born like this, but everything comes at a price."
1. Chapter 1

A Vision for Sight

Chapter 1: Introductions

"Senses are our everything, take away one and we're left weak. That's how my pack saw it anyway…By taking away a wolf's smell they can't hunt, remove their hearing and we can't communicate. By taking away our sight we're unable to see what's standing right in front of us. But nobody said you needed to use your eyes to know this. By removing a wolf's vision, it opens up doorways to skills and unique gifts to strengthen us. Everything is tuned finely and sensitively, bringing forwards opportunities to reach that which we could not see. Going beyond to open up and grasp at something better. They still saw it as a weakness however, hence why someone tried to kill me for it. I may not have known it then, but there was a reason I was born like this. But still…I desired to see the faces of those who took care of me, my loved ones. So when opportunity came knocking, I took it. But everything comes at a price…"

You have to see some sense in this, what's the use of keeping someone around if they're of no use? In a pack, every member has a job to do, Leaders, Betas, Alpha's and Omegas. The leaders lead, the Betas organise, the Alpha's hunt and the Omegas keep the peace. Some packs can understand if there is a problem, they'll find a way around it. But there are ones that see it as a threat, a weak link in their survival chain. When this occurs, the threat is eliminated, cast out. It's just a waste of food and time to keep them around, strong wolves survive, not runts, not the sick or the defected. It's the hard reality; it's a way of life. But there is one thing stronger then the strongest wolves around.

A mother's love is what kept her alive, what's stronger then that. For a year and a half, it's what has still kept her alive to this day. Along with some other help of course. Daria, one of those wolves born with the rare defect that was what brought her here. She could not see, the emerald eyes of her mother clouded by a mist that has obstructed her vision for as long as she could remember. She did not know what the sky looked like, a tree, a bird, the porcupine that had cared for her since he found her. All she knew about Floyd was that it hurt to touch him in most places, it stung, he was covered in sharp pines, so a hug was always out of the question.

He found her one night, on a night she couldn't remember. As best as he could estimate, she had to have been no more then two months old. Scared, he always grew up learning wolves were dangerous predators. But this one was young; its mind could be change. Not to mention the danger it seemed to be in. There was another, a female, it left her in a hedge and ran with pursuers not far behind her. Shadow Forest wasn't a place many would come to unless they had no other choice; there hadn't been predators of any kind around here for years, so something here wasn't right. He ushered her away, the young pup following the sounds of his footsteps and whispers. She didn't know who he was, what he was, what his intentions were, be he promised her safety. Come on…she was two months old, pups that age don't have a clue what they're doing. Stranger danger was something she was yet to learn!

She was lead up hill, that's what she had learnt from the time she's been here now. Floyd was no parent; he didn't have a clue what he was doing. This was a wolf, he couldn't hunt, teach her wolf tricks. Thankfully, he wasn't alone in this. Shadow Forest was full of an abundance of Porcupines. Together, they all agreed Daria needed protecting. A myth was formed, made up warnings placed around its borders, it seemed to have worked. But strange things still happened.

Random weather patterns, as Daria grew up she'd talk to thin air, but imaginary friends weren't all that uncommon in young critters. A gloom seemed to have settled across the forest the night that pup came. It was…strange, but the forests beauty wasn't damaged all that much. It was just a change in the atmosphere of the area surrounding the cave

The smells of daisy's and lily's, the sounds of the river, birds overheard in a nest, the touch of the long grass under her paws. She knew it all; she knew where it all was. At the age of one year and eight months, Daria's knowledge of the area around her cave expended every day. Ask her where anything within two hundred yards of her cave was, anything at all, and she could tell you where it was. Taking small walks every day, learning more and more, memorizing every tree, rock, flower patch, muddy puddle and animal inhabitants. It was all locked in her mental mind map, gradually expanding her knowledge of her home.

Against Floyds wishes, she did this as much as possible. A young she-wolf can't be cramped up inside all day, she wasn't one to sit still for long. She wanted to be out and about, wondering what in the two hundred yards she knew so well had change since the last time. _"Daria, eight O'clock, incoming!"_ She immediately leapt forwards into the long patch of grass her forepaws were feeling, hunkering down and planting her ears against the ground. She heard the light, fast paced, familiar footsteps that were her guardian's vibrating against the ground. She shuffled back a little more to hide herself; wanting to be sure she was as concealed as she could be. The footsteps stopped, so she did as not to make anymore noise. Her sensitive hearing stretched beyond what was normal to find him. _"Slowly and carefully, move back."_ She started taking small and light footed steps backwards, her eyes frozen ahead; she moved back and carried on until she was out of the grass again.

"Ha…Busted!" An abrupt and sharp sting went into her rear, something she was again very familiar to and had come accustom to feeling. But still, it hurt!

"Argh! Ouch Floyd! Do you mind?" She exclaimed sheepishly.

"No do you mind?" The small porcupine countered. "Go on, move it!" She signed, dropping her head and hanging her tail low behind her as she started moving again in the direction of home. "I told you not to come so close to your border without me, if you got lost and I wasn't there you'd never get home again."

"Relax; it was your idea to begin with, to move around more."

"Maybe so, just not on your own."

"Come on Floyd, where's your sense of adventure?" She giggled and suddenly diverting away from him to the right. "I need to have a life outside here, you can't make me stay here, I have rights!"

"Oh yeah? Name two?"

"The right of freedom for one." She now began to counter. "Only time to here my own thoughts and…to learn on my own!"

"Who's the adult here? I look after you, remember."

" _Me too."_

"Oh shut up, I'm still alive aren't I? I wasn't going to be much longer." She picked up her walking pace and started pulling ahead towards the river nearby. She needed a drink.

"Wolves, nobody said it would be easy."

The river located forty fifty yards away from the rocky cave. Or in Daria's mind, down the path to the large boulder, twenty paces to the fallen tree at eleven O'clock, then sixty paces at seven O'clock, stepping over a tree root right before the river. That's from starting from the cave though, so a new route was needed. So from the long grass patch, two O'clock and forty seven paces before turning right ninety degrees where it was a straight shot. Her target was to learn the next thirty yards, pushing the boundaries to made it triple digits, one hundred yards from the den. But that would take a couple of months. It's taken a year just to learn this much!

Lap after lap, she lavished in the moment of the cool liquid running down her throat on this particularly warm day. This was a shallow spot in the river, a part that formed a little pool of its own in a funny way. The rest of it however was a rushing river that would carry anything away in seconds. She was careful to make sure she was at the right bit before stepping in to wash each time. Speaking of a wash, her fur felt some what greasy too, and on this hot day cooling off wouldn't be a bad idea. So she submerged herself into this little pool that was no deeper then her sternum before scrubbing away to remove the dirty and grease.

Floyd was nowhere to be heard or smelt; he came and went all the time. He had stuff of his own to do, a life of his own too. He really only came by to help her move around in newer areas to expand her mind map, for food and of course company. She wondered what it would be tonight, bark, berries…she hoped for the last, there was patch of sweet berries thirty eight paces at two O'clock from bottom of the cave's rocky path down. She had to thank her prickly guardian for so much; she couldn't stay made at him for a second. He found her that year and a bit ago, she didn't know much about what had happened then, she knew only as much as Floyd saw. She just grew up learning not to trust other wolves, anything with the same scent as hers, to run and hide from it.

However, there is a point where it starts to become frustrating. She knew the rules, and from what she knew that was out there, she never, ever thought about going out of her border without help. She knew if she went beyond where her scent stopped she'd never get back. She just wanted his trust, for him to know that she would be sensible and stay where she could get back afterwards. That's where it was frustrating; she just wanted the leash he had on her to loosen a bit.

"Why does he always have to be like that? Talk about overprotective."

" _He's just being the good guardian he's always been. And don't tell me to shut up either!"_

"I know…I'm sorry." She sighed. "But still, he can't expect me to keep inside whenever he's gone."

" _It was poor timing today, sweetheart. He came home earlier then usual."_ She stopped what she was doing, just freezing for a moment when a thought came to mind.

"Why can't you be here? You could look after me better."

" _It's just the way of the world, but you know me…"_ It was then she felt something on her forehead, like something brushing the dirt of it and into the river. _"I'll always be there for you my pup."_

 **Right...this is awkward. So much for retiring right? Ok, let's get this out of the way. So I'm back with a new story, so that I'm rather excited to write about. For those who don't know, this is based around the newest film (Legend of Sawtooth Cave). Only it take an in-depth look at Daria's earlier life and how she became the shy wolf we new her as. The reason I wanted to do this was when I saw it a few months back i couldn't help but notice the supernatural element to it. And if it wasn't obvious enough, that stuff draws me in like a magnet! I don't plan on making this a long story, somewhere around fifteen chapters, maybe less. One thing you will need to know is that it will be slow. It's taken me practically a month to do the first two chapters, so they'll be up either once a week or whenever I can. One last thing you'll need to remember...**

 **Rule 2: The FalconWolf lies!**

 **Until Next Time! :)**


	2. Chapter 2 Rumours

A Vision for Sight

Chapter 2: Rumours

Bored, plain and simple really. There was nothing to do in here; this cave was bare as far as she could tell. All she had to occupy herself was a rock she passed from paw to paw as she huffed and puff or sighed away. Daria hoped Floyd was around here somewhere, listening to her expressing her loneliness and boredom. But deep down she knew he wasn't here, through the fact that he said he was going away for the morning, and that she would have heard him climbing up the path. He wasn't exactly the most healthy he could be, or fit. He had low blood sugar, whatever that meant, she he could hear him panting before he was even have way up the slope. This just annoyed her more though. She wanted to be out there, exploring more, feeling the sun on her grey and cream fur, or so Floyd has told her, whatever that looks like. However, she did have something to look forward to today.

She flicked the rock to the side, standing up and walking almost to the cave entrance. She took careful steps, sliding her paws along the ground to feel something. There it was…that small crack in the cave floor. She position one paw on it and extended the other outwards, slowly and waiting to feel the sun's rays. When she did, she stopped, calculating in her head. "Ok…a little after mid-day, he'll be here soon." Every day around this time, Floyd came around to help her move around a little more. She understood completely why he didn't like her going out without him, and although he never enforced it, she didn't like making him unhappy. Well…not all the time… Patience was something she was still trying to learn; it needed a great deal of improvement. She knew she'd get lost if she went beyond her border without him

She turned around and walked back deeper into the cave, repeating over in her mind that it would only be a couple more minutes. She paced around, looking back constantly into the bright patch she could make out through the cloud in her eyes which was the cave entrance. She could tell where there was light or darkness. It was either like she was staring into a normal looking cloud when there was light, or a storm cloud from what she had learnt. Basically, she saw no kind of a silhouette within it, so all she could do was wait.

But it seemed she had fallen asleep, she opened her eyes, that brighter cloud in her eyes turning darker. Some power nap… "Floyd?" She yawned, standing on her back legs but stretching out her front. "Floyd, are you here?" Nothing. Where the devil was he? He was always here around dusk, no matter what he said or did during the day, he was always here. She walked towards the cave mouth, inhaling through her nose deeply. Not a scent of him. She listened intensely, only the breeze and autumn leaves hitting the floor. She wanted to find him, maybe something was wrong. She took two steps, only two before she walked into something. Not the den wall, not a rock, this was something soft, something her height.

" _Now where do you think you're going?"_

"He's not here; he's always here at this time. I was just…"

" _Turning around and going back inside, he'll be here soon."_

"You don't know that." She pushed passed the force and moved on, turning left where she could feel the ground descending. Twenty one paces forward, there the rock turned to dirt and grass, the ground was moist, there was a better chance of a scent being held here. She planted her nose to the floor and took several sniffs. Yes…there it was. He was here, no more then two hours ago, right after the time she must've fallen asleep! "Damn it." She muttered.

" _Watch your mouth!"_ She rolled her eyes and sighed before moving on, following that scent around to the right. She still relied on her mind map, using the scent trail and adding it to it so she knew where she was and where it led her to. It was hard, but it wasn't the first time she had done this. Those days when hide and seek was her favourite game, and before she became a rebellious adolescent young girl, she did this kind of thing all the time, it was the best way to spread her scent around, wherever she couldn't find her scent, she was out of her border and she needed to turn around and go back. Never go beyond unless Floyd was around.

" _Daria, you really need to go back. Something's not right, I don't like this."_

"You don't like a lot of things." She replied a little laugh.

" _It's not good to come out here near dark, you know that."_

"You sound like Floyd."

" _Just doing what any good guardian would do."_

She followed it all the way across to the furthest side of the border, her nose practically sliding across the forest floor the entire way. His scent was still strong; he had left in this way not too long ago. She didn't know what was in this direction, only that he went this way rather often. But there was only so far she could head this way before she came across a new blockage. She froze, lifting her head up and confirm her suspicions. Her border ended here, she hadn't been further then this before. One hundred and twenty yards from the cave. She was already beyond her line, her comfort zone. Her mind instantly flashed to the time she last crossed it when she was much younger and without Floyd, she was lost for a whole night before she was found wondering a mile away near the outskirts of Shadow Forest.

"Floyd?" She called out. "Floyd! Are you out there?" She shouted, this time a little louder. No answer, he wasn't out there or anywhere near it seemed. She didn't know what to do. The likelihood of him being hurt wasn't even slim; he was most defiantly just caught up in something. But still…he's never been late before, he's always there before sunset. Well it's sun set, and he's not here.

" _Don't you even think about it."_

"I won't go far, only a few dozen yards." Daria responded.

" _Remember how that went last time."_

"I was younger then, I can take care of myself now." But then something changed, she sensed something.

" _I remember that day, "I'll only be a second and I'll come…"_

"Shush!"

" _Fine, if you don't want my help then…"_

"No, be quiet, can't you hear that there's someone talking." Daria's ears flicked and rotated around, trying to pin point where it was coming from. Two O'clock and closing in. She pressed her ear to the floor, taking her time when she thought she heard more then one voice. "I can hear three of them, and they're heavy."

" _It's wolves!"_ That voice shouted into her head.

"W-Wolves?" She gasped, all this time she never came across another wolf. But that didn't matter, not when all she's learnt was that they were all bad and she was good. "Oh man…I gotta hide!" No point in looking around was there. "Think, think…" The voices were growing louder, she didn't have long. So much pressure, it shrouded her map, making her forget things. She started walking backwards; it was all she could think of! But suddenly, she thought. There was a log, from her current position, only seven paces in the direction of the den. It was hollowed, whether or not she could still fit in there was a mystery, but there was only one way to find out. She spun around; the seven paces at this speed made her strides only four before she felt. She rubbed her side against it until she hit the edge and backed up into it. She hadn't hidden in here for a little while, it was smaller then she remembers. It did the job though, Daria back up as much as she could when she was certain her head was covered, then she froze, trying to regulate her breathing and stay silent. She was terrified. "This is bad; this is really, really bad." She whispered.

" _Shush…they're right there."_ She was stopped and she listened.

"…never seen a rabbit run so fast in my life." A male voice said. "But nothing can out run me."

"The fastest wolf around, aren't you, baby." A female voice then replied.

"You got it." The log then moved, almost rolling completely over, making Daria gasp at the same the two wolves fell over it, landing beside one another followed with the audible sounds of kissing. She didn't understand, who the hell where they? Her heart skipped a beat again when the log moved for a second time, not as badly, and the top tapped as claws laid upon it.

"Knock it off you two." A second male voice said. "Save it for later would you." The female giggled, one last kiss was exchanged before they clambered off one another and stood up.

"We've SO got to find you a girl, maybe one who likes to travel too." The female said. "Then we could double date."

"Or maybe I'd find a better reason not to puke at you two." He chuckled. There was then a moment of silence between the three of them, only a couple of seconds. Did they see her? She didn't move though, not unless she was certain of it.

"Hey, can you guys smell that?" The first male said out of the blue. She heard them all scenting the air. "There's someone here."

"And not long ago." The second added. "Maybe there's a pack around here." The log that male was standing on; it sounded like it was straining, cracking, she feared he'd fall through it and reveal her.

"Then we shouldn't rest for long; remember the last pack you stumbled across." Said the girl.

"Yeah, your pack." The first male laughed lightly.

"Hey Susie, you're a girl, maybe you can talk to this one." The second boy stated. They knew she was a girl, they were going to find her at some point, they knew it. She had to run; she needed to get out of here now!

" _Don't move Daria!"_ So she didn't.

"Mom, you've got to help me, please." She begged quietly.

"Hey, did you hear that?" The second male said, moving around on the log she hid in.

"Hear what?" Susie wondered.

"Someone was talking."

"Callen's hearing voices again." The first said humorously.

"Hey, you know what happened, that witch was messing with all of us!" This "Callen" wolf replied hotly.

"It was imagination." Susie answered for her partner.

"That swamp was haunted." Callen added. "You both saw the witch too; it chased us for a mile!"

"You know, growing up outside of that forest in all…I learnt she wasn't always like that. Apparently it was a monster that guarded it, and the witch herself actually helps. My grandma went in there deaf but came out with some of the best hearing around."

"Now, you're both being stupid." This was good; the subject was being turned away from her and to this "witch". She couldn't help but be curious though, she was multitasking, listening to them and trying to figure out the fastest route home should they find her. "It was fun, we should go back sometime and try and figure it out."

"You're crazy, Nick." Susie said. Finally, three names she could put to the three wolves that trapped her. "I'm telling you I'm not going back there." She persisted.

"I agree, that would be a big…" The wolf above her fell through the log, clearly it wasn't enough to hold his weight and she knew it. His whole weight fell onto her tail, and with that she yelped and screamed from the abrupt and painful sting. She knew this was that time to run, no questions asked. She exploded out from the log, running blindly, quite literally, in where she was sure the cave was.

"What the heck…" Nick never had the chance to finish.

"Hey, hold up!" Susie shouted and giving chase after her with Nick right behind her. Callen yanked his paw out from the log and wasn't very far behind.

Daria halved everything, every distance between everything and the way home. Everything was measured at a single step; this was a large stride, so she estimated one stride for every two steps. Her mind was in a frenzy, where was everything? Where was she? How far back were they? She found the first marker, a tree with a low branch on the right side. "Ok…now one O'clock." She muttered to herself before taking off again.

"Damn this girl is quick." Nick said. "Come back, we just want to talk!"

"We won't hurt you!" Susie shouted also. It seems their words went unanswered. They watched her run into a tree and then carry on, then as soon as she hit a patch of long grass she turned sharply left. There was no pattern in this girl's running; she was all over the place. Was she just trying to confuse them? Shake them off? "What the heck is she doing?"

"Why are we even running after her?" Callen called out to his friends from the rear. He didn't see much point in this.

"So we can find out where we are. Or maybe she has a pack here somewhere." Nick answered back to him.

Daria was panicking, her hyperventilation causing her to tire. Her stamina wasn't as great as it could be; there wasn't much room to go for a long run exactly. _"Keep moving Daria, they're not far behind."_ She wasn't planning on stopping either.

Callen looked up, sensing something clearly nobody else did. The skies were turning grey, a storm looked like it was going to hit. But there was no rain, there was no thunder, this was something he hadn't seen before in his two years of life. He didn't like it.

Finally, she hit the cliff wall and immediately turned left again, the dirt turned into stone and the ground ascended up. The three wolves stopped at the bottom of the slope watching as she sped up and away veering right and disappearing into what must be her den. "Guys are you seeing this?" Callen said, still looking up to the sky and nudging Susie.

"A storm? That's strange."

"Even better, maybe she'll give us shelter in there."

"Oh this is bad; this is really, really bad." Daria panted and leaning back up against the wall just on the inside of the cave. She didn't know what to do. Not only did she go beyond her border and encounter those she was told to ignore, but now she's brought them to her own doorstep.

" _I hate to say it, but…"_

"This is not the time to say "you told me so"." She hissed.

"Hello!" That girl shouted up suddenly. "We just want to talk!"

"Way to go Callen, you scared her." Nick whispered.

"How was I supposed to know she was hiding in there?" He seethed back.

"Listen, there's a storm coming, can we come up?"

Daria didn't know what to do; she's never been in this situation before. She figured there was only one thing she could do. "Don't…Don't coming a-any closer!" It was all she could think of. Plain and simple. The message as clear.

"Come on, let's go slowly." Susie whispered with Nick nodding in agreement.

"Guys, she clearly said "not to go closer. It's her home, leave her be."

"Do you want to get caught out in a storm again? Because I don't." Nick said back, this time rather hot tempered. Callen was more worried about the strange activity going on above their heads, something really wasn't right here. Hence why he stayed put, he wasn't going to move.

" _They're coming."_

"What do I do? Tell me, please." She begged again. Although she didn't understand why wolves were bad, seeing as she was one and look how she turned out, growing up being told almost every day that "wolves are bad", seemed to have sunk in. It was a natural instinct now. She didn't get an answer from her guardian after that, only a change in the atmosphere she didn't like. She knew something was about to happen.

"Look, my name is Susie, these are my friends. We won't hurt you."

"You don't understand, you…you can't be here." Daria still insisted.

"Guys!" Callen was beginning to lose his nerve and temper now. "I'm serious. Stop barging in, let's just go, alright!"

"What's wrong buddy? Lost your sense of adventure." Nick smirked. He didn't like that at all, not one little bit. The dark clouds above only darkened, a gloom settled in around them, he hadn't seen anything like this since the swamps. Nick looked back ahead, the cave saw no more then ten feet away. "Look, we're coming up, so there's no need for…"

"I said STAY AWAY!" Then everything cleared, hell broke loose. There was one single clap of thunder, and with thunder comes lightening. A bolt screamed out from the dark clouds screeching before hitting the floor outside the cave. Daria leapt away and curled up into a ball as far back against the further wall. It crashed into the ground, a tingle running through all their bodies. Then it was gone, like all lightening does. Nick looked up from shielding his partner, and Callen uncovered his face. What on earth was that? They all thought it? But it wasn't over…

The scorched rock the lightening landed was cracked. In fact it still was, the rock snapped and cracked, the lines moving closer to them and a rumbling vibrating underneath them. Suddenly, the side of the path gave way, falling down like a landslide. More and more of it did this the more the cracks opened up. "Crap, RUN!" Nick bellowed and pushing Susie back down the slope. The cracks were keeping up with them, the path crumbling away falling into boulders and adding an eerie look to the place. It was so loud, never had any of them seen anything like it. Callen called for his friends to hurry up and he started walking backwards. In time, the two made it to the bottom and together all three of them continued on, not once looking back as they sped away into the forest. The stone settled, piled up on top of one another, the rest of the path was gone, there was no path any more, only jagged rocks piled up beneath the cave entrance.

In the back, Daria was still curled up sobbing quietly, her paws covering her ears and her eyes sealed tight shut. She knew what it was, so she wasn't crying for that reason or those wolves. She was crying because it was all her fault. If only she had listened to Floyd. She shouldn't have crossed her border and she shouldn't have led them home. She should have just tried to hide again and loose them, she knew she needed to listen more, why did it never sink in? However, just because she knew what caused all that noise doesn't mean it was any less scary. She felt something on her back, a small amount of weight that moved from her shoulder blades to the mid-section of her back. A comforting rub. _"Nothing will hurt you my baby."_

 **A good old classic "dun...dun...dun..." moment, got to love them. On another note, it's good to see some of the regular names as well as new ones. Review and read on guys, I always like to know what you think, reviews and PM's go straight to my phone so I'll see it straight away! Until next time! :)**


	3. Chapter 3 Learning New Things

A Vision for Sight

Chapter 3: Learning New Things

Thunder and Lightening never came and left like that, something was wrong and he knew it. What he feared the most was that it occurred somewhere around the cave, meaning Daria could be hurt. Floyd ran as fast as his little legs could carry him, damn his brother for making him stay behind for a "family talk", he should have been with Daria over an hour ago! He's never been late before, he's always been their on time or maybe even a little bit early. Was this the price for going against his routine? He was getting ahead of himself now, maybe nothing was wrong, just a freak weather pattern to go along with the many others that happen around here now. But still, he worried, Daria had been alone all day now, she would be fine, but what kind of guardian would he be if he didn't worry?

"Daria!" He shouted, as he crossed through her border, almost to the cave. She would have heard him; her hearing was far beyond average for a wolf, as the rest of her senses. The skies were almost dark now, the evening coming to a close just proving how long he had been away. It was just after sunrise he last spoke to her, hr came back for a short period of time to check in on her but she was asleep, so he left her to it. Parenthood wasn't an easy thing, especially when it came to a species that would prefer to hunt you down and eat you.

He hurried on, weaving around the trees, smelling faint smells somewhat like Daria, but different. Other wolves had been here, and it didn't seem like for long. He saw the cave but came to a quick stop at the bottom of…well, what USED to be the path. It was gone, it wasn't there, some kind of avalanche from the cliff above blocked and ripped it apart. He banked around to the left and away a little bit, now able to see the entire of the cliff and cave. He had a bad feeling, accompanied now by the jagged rocks that added a more eerie look to what was already a creepy looking cave. "Daria?" He shouted again. "Can you hear me?" Nobody answered, she always answered. He needed to get up there. Luckily the rocks seemed to have created platforms, he saw a route up. So he climbed, taking careful steps after not knowing what would crumble under his weight. But then again he wasn't very heavy, however, he took precautions, he didn't know what had happened here. He scurried up them as quickly and carefully as he could, eager to see his friend. He scrambled over the last ledge and walked towards the mouth of the cave but stopped before entering. He leaned in a bit, his ear perking to whispering, to faint to make out. He heard sobs, they belonging to Daria, but the whispering was not. The sobs were enough to make him keep moving, so he walked inside.

There she was, nobody else, maybe it was her muttering to herself. She lay curled up in the back, her greyish, clouded fur making her stand out in the darkness. He patted over to her with a hurried pace. "Daria, it's me, everything's ok." He hushed. She lifted her head and turned to him. "Floyd?" She sniffed.

"What happened here? Outside, it's chaos." He wanted to know. She laid her head back down and cried again, the fur around her eyes and the dirt under her face was damp, absorbing her tears she cried away for the last half and hour she'd been here without moving. "You know, it's fine, don't worry about it. Everything's…"

"There were wolves." She sniffed again. "Th-They walked through and I hid, but then they found me so I ran."

"Did they hurt you?" He quickly asked looking over her body from her lying position for any wounds.

"No." She answered, rolling over her back so he could at least see her face, but only for her to lie her head down again. He had to step back as not to get squished by her. "No they didn't hurt me, but they followed me, and then..." She started to cry and, covering her eyes with her paws. Floyd looked back outside, the destruction; he could only guess that was what she was talking about. "I'm so sorry…I didn't mean to…"

"It's not your fault." He interrupted. "I didn't see anyone outside, you're safe now." He said and stroking her cheek with his small paw.

"I went passed my border looking for you, where were you?"

"My brother kept me, I came back but you were asleep. This is my fault, not yours, ok? You're safe now, nothing is coming up here."

"I know." She whispered and nodding, she knew she was safe. "Please don't leave me." She added and placing her paw over his.

"Not until the sun is up." He smiled.

He kept his promise, he stayed the entire night and then some, together the next morning they spent the entire of it together, his way for making up for his absence yesterday. They needed a new path down; the slope wasn't an option anymore. She almost fell the fifteen foot drop the lightening made. If only she could see the madness, the rubble and the mess! Then again…maybe it was better she didn't. The path Floyd took to get up here was perfect, if he could scale it then she certainly could. She just needed to trust him and have faith, like she always did. It was scary though, how high were these really? It was a test of her memory; she had to forget everything she ever learnt about the pathway and slope before.

This was how it worked, Floyd lead her down to the bottom, for there on she used her body and paws to create a mental image of everything. Yeah, it took ages, feeling every curve, every edge and every crack using her paws and body. She started to understand why Floyd said it was better she didn't see this, but now she could imagine it. She reached and stretched as far as she could to get a better understanding of the new land outside her home, Floyd giving the occasional assistance here and there on where to move next. It took two hour starting from the bottom to get to the outside of the cave again. For there on it was repeating her steps, going over and over it again to get the full understanding of the new surroundings. She liked doing this, keeping active, moving around, the occasional game with Floyd like hide and seek, noughts and crosses using his pines for a grid, imaginative things, things they haven't done in a while. Daria saw how he really wanted to make up for not being there yesterday. And as much as he'd act grumpy or say he was "too old for that kind of thing" she knew he enjoyed it really. He did have to take regular break to get his energy levels back up, leaving her to go back to figuring out the new path up to the cave.

Time was moving into the afternoon now and Daria was now beginning to take it all in. So what if this took forever, she was having fun today, more fun then she's had in a long time. Fun like today was really needed, especially after yesterday. She stood on her back paws, using her front ones to negotiate the rocks to get a better understanding on which areas here were trickier then others, maybe figure out if there was more then one way down should a need arise. When that idea came to mind she spun around, carefully climbing back down the last few feet and began to move to area she hadn't really covered. In doing so, she couldn't help but overhear Floyd, sounded like he was talking to someone; she could hear another voice as well. _"Curious?"_

"No, not at all." Daria replied. "It's none of our business." She said as she arrived, placing her forepaws up again against the stone and feeling for another ledge.

" _Come on, you could sneak over there."_

"Stop it, and I couldn't anyway." She shushed but laughed at the same time. Daria knew there was no chance she'd sneak up on them, there was no-where to hide there.

" _Maybe not."_ Daria felt a ledge around three feet high, so she jump up and clambered up now checking this new ledge without slipping back down. _"But I could."_ Ok, now it was tempting. She stopped what she was doing, turning her head in Floyd's direction. He was further then she could hear, maybe for a good reason, maybe he was talking about something he didn't want her to hear. She knew it wasn't good to dig her nose into other people's business. But now she had a way of knowing what they were talking about without gaining suspicion. She smiled, turning her back to Floyd and resuming what she was doing.

"Do it." Instantly, her ears rung and her body tensed. This was a weird sensation, and it never changed each time she did this. She never had any control, for it wasn't her senses or body. She carried on feeling, multitasking as her hearing moved around on the head of another wolf. She could hear clear paw steps right under her, like it was her very own, Floyd's voice grew louder as if she was moving in closer, but she wasn't even moving. Eventually, it was now at the point where it was like he was standing right there beside her, that close she could touch him. But really she was a good distance away, so there was no chance it was really happening.

"You know there's no way she could have done all that, right?" A female's voice said.

"Obviously." Floyd scoffed quietly, both were whispering, hence why she wouldn't have been able to hear them. Talking normal and she would've, this was defiantly something they didn't want her hearing. "Didn't you hear that lightening last night? That's what caused it."

"Seriously?" She didn't sound impressed or shocked. "And you think she had something to do with it? How lame."

Daria stopped; talking about her behind her back was something they never did. Or did he? She didn't know what he spoke of when he wasn't around, what he'd tell people.

"What's lame, Vanessa?" Floyd asked.

"This whole thing is lame!" She responded a little too loudly. Daria sensed the two look back at her, so she acted like nothing was wrong and carried on feeling the stone, moving across to the left and finding another ledge to climb up.

"Nothing about this is lame." Floyd hissed back. "Daria isn't like other wolves, she's…"

"Weird?" Vanessa interrupted. Vanessa…Daria vaguely remembered her, they'd met a couple of time, not recently though, otherwise she'd have remembered and noticed her voice. She was one of many of the porcupines around here she had met but not seen in a long time. She was one that wasn't easily impressed she remembered, boring sounding.

"She's special; she's got something to do with everything that's happened here lately."

"Things only you have seen." She sighed.

"Spend some more time around here and you might see something that'll change your mind." Floyd answered. "The lightening last night, random wind patterns and storms, whispering inside the cave. I don't think she's alone in there."

"You think this place is actually haunted? We made all that up remember to keep others out."

" _Weird? Is that what they all think of me?"_ Daria thought. These words stung, but at least it sounded like Floyd was sticking up for her.

"There's a reason why none of us do anymore." Vanessa continued. "This is becoming a joke, why are we even still doing this? Wolves haven't been a problem in this forest in a long time, other say that tradition needs to continue."

"We can't get rid of her." Floyd snapped. "She wouldn't last a day on her own. I promised to protect her the day I found her, if I had left her then those wolves would have."

Ok…now she was interested. What was this they were talking about? She remembered now why she didn't particularly like this Vanessa girl; she was cocky, too big for her own shoes, thought she was above everyone. But that aside…who were these wolves he was talking about?

"Fine." Vanessa continued. "Fair point, but there was really no need to keep her around and ask everyone to keep her safe. I'm not the only one saying this, but maybe it's time she went back. There's a pack of wolves not far from here to the west, they'd take her."

"She's blind, Vanessa. Wolves are all about team work, she can't hunt, she can't even see a tree right in front of her."

"Look, I didn't come here to fight, but maybe there was a reason why those wolves were after her. I mean, wasn't there any part of you that thought you should stay out of it?" She then asked a little more sincerely.

Daria stopped again after she climbed a final ledge, her cave now in front of her. She wanted to hear this bit; she wanted to know if it was more then just the kindness of his heart that made him take her away.

"I…" She jolted back when a little force hit her, another she was familiar with, singling it was over.

"What are you doing?" She seethed with a shake of her head to clear her sense. "I need to know what he said!"

" _There are some things you shouldn't hear, Daria."_

"Seriously? You're the one who wanted me to hear what they were saying. Why let me hear further if you cut it off?"

" _Don't get the wrong impression about Floyd; everything he's ever done was to help you."_ She looked back out again towards his direction; she could still make out him and Vanessa talking, but what she couldn't figure out, they still whispered as so she couldn't hear, obviously on purpose.

"They think I'm a joke." Daria said. "Floyd maybe trying to help me, but now nobody's listening to him because of me. They're scared, he's scared of me."

" _Not you, me sweetheart."_

"Why don't you just talk to him? Then you could explain everything, Floyd won't need to worry about me so often and can fix everything with his friends and family."

" _It doesn't work like that I'm afraid."_

"You can be my ears, you can let me use your ears like that, why can't you be my eyes?" She then asked. "Let me see the same way you let me hear like that, then I could help out more, take care of Floyd every once in a while rather then the other way around."

" _Everything comes at a price_ , _there are certain things I can do. There was a reason you were born this way."_

"Then tell me." Daria demanded. "You were the only one there, so you tell me, mother." There was no answer; a presence left the area like it did often. She was alone now. She hung her head, gritting her teeth together and growling in frustration. Questions like that would never get an answer; she should have learnt this by now. "All I want is to see, see Floyd's face, where I live, your face. You've done so much for me, impossible things, why is this too much to ask?" She turned around and walked into the cave, wanting to lie down, the day had once again turned depressing from a great start.

A mission was underway; she soared high in the sky on wings like eagles. She wanted to give her daughter everything, and if she wanted to see, that's what she would get, whatever the cost as long as she understood it. Travelling this distance to a land far away, she hears everything her daughter hears, and a good thing too. She could go wherever she wanted, she was free to fly over her home and beyond to the east, making a weeks walk journey only a few minutes. She diverted down stopping at a barrier, one similar to what she had around her daughter and her home. She could go no further, so she waited. It didn't take long, it never does. A black, misty entity manifested before her own white one. A faint silhouette of a male stood in front of her. _"My charge will come, make sure yours is ready."_

" _What makes you think she will?"_

" _She's brave, persistent, she will come once she knows."_

 ** _Ok guys, the chapters have caught up with me, they'll be out whenever they're done now. That's all I'm going to say. Until next time!_**

 ** _The FalconWolf_**


	4. Chapter 4 A Vision

A Vision for Sight

Chapter 4: A Vision

Now Daria understood the seriousness of Floyd's life away from her, he was losing his friends and family, and it was all because of her. She knew as much as all his porcupine friends promised to keep her and the forest safe, but with the weird things that have been going on, caused by her, they were now starting to doubt this. That girl yesterday seemed to have a real problem with her, and from the sounds of it she wasn't the only one. She began to understand it a little while later, they were helping her, but in what way was she helping them? She wasn't, they did so much for nothing in return, were they asking for something now? If only she could meet more of them, get to know them maybe or try and help out in any way. She was mobile, she can smell and hear, she could still do something; she wasn't completely broken or useless.

Daria grew up with the saying "forgive and forget", it's how she and Floyd have always been on good terms and rarely fought. Although she was rather mad about what he said yesterday, she never got to hear the full story, she was cut off, so how she can at be angry at something she can't verify? To be honest it sounded like he was sticking up for her, trying to understand what it was that made her "strange, as they put it, and try to understand these occurrences. As much as she desired to tell him, she couldn't, literally she really couldn't, something always stopped her and she had a good idea who and why. Either something came up, someone else came or she found she couldn't speak, her voice taken from her. The amount of times she tried but couldn't, so she just gave up, seeing it as something she wasn't aloud to say.

Anyway, the rest of the afternoon was just a case of relaxing and finding something to eat. Floyd brought her some way from her border to a fresh patch of berries. With purple lips afterwards they trekked back to where they could wash in the river before going they're separate ways, Daria to her cave and Floyd to his…whatever it was he slept in. Then that all leads to now, this morning was the start to a normal day. Daria wasn't yet awake; it was still the early hours so there was good reason. She never had a good reaction to being woken up at daybreak, so when a little voice whispered in her ear this was the initial reaction. "Hmm…" And rolling over onto her other side.

" _Sweetie, wake up."_

"I just…huh, what?" She mumbled and lifting her head this time now hearing the voice and something nudging her shoulder.

" _Rise and shine, I've got something to…"_

"No." She interrupted plain and simply. "Nope, not happening." She covered her face with her paw and slumped back down, closing her eyes again to sleep.

" _But it's good news."_

"I'm not talking to you, not after yesterday. Go away." She rolled over again, showing her back to where the voice was coming from. "It can't be dawn yet."

" _Almost, but you need to hear me out now, this is a once in a lifetime chance."_ Daria sighed, there was no escaping this she-wolf and no chance she was going to leave, let only let her go back to sleep.

"Ok, fine, what is it?" She asked, rolling over again onto her front with a yawn. She pushed her forepaws forwards and stretched off her back muscles.

" _Ok, what's the one thing you want more then anything?"_

"What?" She asked in surprise. No "good morning" or anything like that? She got no answer, obviously she was the one being waited on still, this was a serious topic. "Well…umm, at the moment I guess I wish I could give something back to Floyd." She answered as she stepped outside, feeling the early, and very little, sunlight touch her body. Must have rained a little bit in the night, the stone under her paws was damp; she could smell the dew in the air too.

" _Anything else?"_

"Maybe…I don't know, just be a little more helpful to those helping me." She started going through the route down in her head, at least she could find out how awake she really was. From the cave mouth, eleven O'clock then drop, turn right and drop again, walk around to the left and drop, one last side step left and drop, then she'd find the floor. She started, carefully and taking it slowly edging her way down the first drop, sliding her paw across the floor in front of her to make sure she didn't fall down the jagged edges.

" _Anything else?"_

"What are you getting at?" She then demanded louder, now beginning to grow a little frustrated again. "Stop asking in riddles, say it straight."

" _What about something to do with you, perhaps…to see?"_

"See what?" Daria answered, not fully understanding where this was heading still.

" _Maybe that you need to take another step to your left, drop there and you'll feel it."_ Taking the words into account, she took a left step and felt the next platform and the last inch to the ground.

"Wait, are you talking about my sight?" Daria wondered as she started walking towards the river, she was in need of a drink. Again she had no reply in return; her own answer was being waited on. "Are you being serious right now?" Daria couldn't help but see the funny side to it, this cannot be a serious topic.

Things went quiet straight after that, she as able to walk all the way to her shallow spot at the nearby river for a drink before the conversation stated up again. _"Don't you want that? To be able to see Floyd's face? To help more like you wanted."_

"Well, yeah. But come on, be realistic here." She giggled a little bit while bending down and starting to lap up the cold water.

" _But it is something you want?"_

"Ok, come on, that isn't funny anymore, ok? That's enough." Daria was only a few laps into her drink when something snapped, now it was going too far.

" _I'm being serious, daughter. This is a possibility."_

"Stop, please, this is not how I wanted to start…"

" _No, you stop!"_ Wow, since when is she the one to be interrupted. The atmosphere around Daria changed, she sensed it, a darker feeling settled in, a sensation she knew all to well and happened often. She didn't like it, never has and never while, it brought a sense of assertion, dare she say it, a parent scolding their child! _"Do you remember those wolves?"_

"Wolves? What have they got to do with this?" She asked back, turning her back towards the river and sitting comfortably.

" _One of them spoke of a witch, remember that?"_

"I…umm, not really." She shook her head.

" _Then let me refresh your memory."_ She felt something thrust against her forehead, like a paw and hold on. Instantly, along with the touch, everything across that area went static, a mild headache sensation and a ringing in her ears that only intensified. Again this was no the first time this had happened, but she didn't liker it, she hated it when these random things happened out of the blue. When the ringing was at deafening pitch, she began to hear whispers, whispers that grew louder and louder until it was a clear voice, just as if the person was standing there in front of her.

"… _Hearing voices again…That witch was messing with all of us!...It was imagination…My grandma went in there deaf, came out with the best hearing around…It's a monster that guarded it, the witch herself actually helps."_

The paw was yanked away from her head and the ringing peaked and faded, leaving Daria breathless. That was a way of reminding her; she hated it so much, what as wrong with just repeating the words verbally? She recalled hearing different voices, that of the two males and the female she encountered the other day. Brief snippets of their conversation before they found her. "Man…what the hell!" She shouted and rubbing her forehead where the paw was. "Why can't you just tell me?!"

" _Because it was for you to hear and understand, not me."_

"That makes no sense!"

" _Maybe, maybe not. But don't you understand? There is a way for you to get exactly what you wish."_

"Are you for real?" She seethed while standing. "Witches don't exist."

" _Is that what you think?"_ Daria stood up straighter, her head a little clearer now. Well, enough to make her rethink this new subject.

"Are you trying to tell me, there's a way to let me see?"

" _I know where this witch is."_ This was the answer she received.

"If this is a wind up then great, you got me."

" _This is no trick Daria; a mother only wants what's best for her child. So if you want this, then this will happen."_

That asserting feeling Daria sensed earlier seemed to lift itself, she no longer felt that presence shroud around her and the area. This wasn't a joke, it was clear in the voice; this was something that could turn for the better. The possibilities, she would see Floyd and what he looks like, she could help more, be more self reliant, hell… she could at least know what the colour green looked like! "I…I don't know."

" _If you don't want to, then that's ok sweetheart. Remember what I tell you, we're born how we're meant to be, you don't need to change."_

"But this could make everything different." She piped up. "This could change everything." She was sure of this, the endless things she could do! "Where is the witch, and tell me with words this time."

" _That I cannot tell you."_ There's always a catch, and here it was. Why can't she be told? Daria asked that question with utter confusion. _"As you said, this is something that will change everything."_

"For the better!" She exclaimed and turning back towards the river. "What's wrong with wanting to be normal?"

" _Everything comes at a price, this you must learn through finding this wolf yourself."_

"You mean a test?"

" _Yes, like a test, you must be sure this is something you want."_ She had a moment to think. She needed this for so many reasons; to see would open up so many possibilities and the majority she's already listed. To finally know what a porcupine looks like, what she looks like, to help Floyd more, understand colours and really know if it was a cloud she always sees, that's what Floyd says he sees in her and it's all she can. Her eyes colour as well, even Floyd said he wasn't sure, a dark green perhaps, another thing she wanted to know, what colours were. But bad things, she couldn't think of any, most likely because there were none. Like she said "What's wrong with wanting to be normal?"

"What about Floyd? He'll need to come; I won't know where to start."

" _Everything will fall into place; you just have to trust me."_ How would everything into place? She couldn't go beyond her border; she didn't know what lay beyond it or even which direction she needed to go. _"You do trust me, don't you?"_

"Of course, let's do this." She said with a little smile and turning back around. "We just need to tell Floyd and then…"

" _We must leave now. Everything will work out as long as we leave now."_

"What, now? But what about Floyd? I need him to help me move around."

" _You don't need him."_ It was then she felt something large graze against her side, something the same size as her, a warm body press itself against her side lightly. _"I've not left your side once; I'm never doing it again."_

"We've got to tell him though; we can't just up and leave."

" _What did I tell you? Trust me, everything will work out."_ In no way did this feel natural, nor did she expect to be thinking and talking such things this morning. Not once in her life has an opportunity like this come around, and it was likely it would never come by again. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity, come on, what would you have done? It didn't feel right to just up and leave at first light with no explanation or even a note, but then again she couldn't write, so that didn't help. The only thing Daria could do was trust in her guide, her new helper. She looked back up, her mind all made up. She leaned a little more to her right to feel that soft presence.

"Let's go."

 **I've got new problems now guys, one of which I've been waiting for to happen. My laptop is misbehaving and being ridiculously example, it took me almost two hours just to get it turned on and this chapter uploaded! So this is the source of my delays now. Anyway, leave a review and let me know what you think. Until Next Time! :)**


	5. Chapter 5 The Guide

Vision for Sight

Chapter 5: The Guide

"Daria!" Floyd shouted with worry beyond belief. This wasn't liked her at all, to just disappear and leave her border. It was somewhere between dawn and mid-day, the normal time he comes to see her every day. First place he goes to is the cave, it's where she usually is this early, and occasionally she wouldn't even be awake. But no, she wasn't there. Which was fine, she could be getting a drink, so next he started walking towards the shallow spot by the river she drinks from and bathes in. Again, she wasn't anywhere to be seen, but her scent was here. His sense of smell was nothing compared to a wolf's let alone hers! But he could still follow it as best he could. "Daria, can you hear me!" At this point he started to worry; however, there were still many places she could be. On rare occasions she'd wake up in a playful mood, those days he'd come to her in the morning and she'd already run out to hide. But that was a while ago, she hasn't done that in a while. Another reason he hoped she had done it, a change, showing she can still be playful.

The long grass patches, hollowed logs, hedges, rocky areas, she wasn't here. Now he began to panic some. So he retraced his steps back to the river, picking up her scent and followed it with haste, through her little territory and into uncharted areas. He stopped at the edge, hoping and praying silently that he was wrong and she was still hiding out here somewhere. He must have followed her tracks and scent for a further five minutes before the trail went cold. The moment she passed her line he was in a state of panic. This wasn't like her, not at all. She knows not to cross it, she's learnt that the hard way when she went missing for two hours and he found her a long way away. Maybe she was taken? His first suspicion, but there weren't any other scent, none but hers. She was lured away? Someone called her from the outside? But again, nobody else was here as far as he could tell.

It must have been three hours after first discovering her disappearance and he was still looking, he wasn't going to rest until he found her. His throat was dry, his voice turning crackly the amount he's been shouting. Looking left and right, before him and behind him and she wasn't in sight or smell. He had to stop a minute, try and think this through. Maybe she's was back there, thinking this was a game. But wait, what was that? Something not far away. He darted forwards, leaping atop a fallen tree and narrowing his vision, a tail disappearing behind a hedge. He grew a little grin; he knew she couldn't have gotten far! He leapt down and scrambled. "Daria, stop!" He shouted and moving his little legs as fast as he could. Not even half a mile away, he didn't expect her to get very far. Never before had he felt so relieved to see her, but never before has he found a big enough reason to ruin his voice further in demanding what she was doing out here!

He slid around the hedge to confront her. "Daria, thank goodness you're ok, I've been worried…" The brown she-wolf turned back to look at him as he came to a grinding halt in both his words and his movements. "Oh…sorry, I thought you were…"

"Don't you worry a thing" She smiled and turning to face him. This wasn't Daria, not even close; he got his hopes to high. He turned to walk away when a second realization hit, who was this wolf? Better yet, what the heck was she doing here in Shadow Forest! He turned back to her; she still stood facing him with that friendly smile on her face.

"Who are you, what are you doing here?" He demanded of this she-wolf, his spines standing a little more on end.

"Oh, I'm nobody, and I'm just passing through, helping someone too." She answered and sitting down as well.

"Well you can't be here; you've got to leave now!"

"Why? Nobody owns this place; I can come here if I want."

"Wolves are not welcome. Leave now before this gets out of hand."

"Wow, are all you porcupines like this?" She giggled at his threat display. She was familiar with porcupines, but she didn't know they could be this funny. He didn't answer; he continued his glare and stare, no change in his decision and demands. Shadow forest was protected by him and his friends, nobody, especially wolves, entered. "Ok, fine, I'm leaving." She sighed and giving in, standing up and turning around to carry on walking in the direction she was headed. He did the same, happy now that another wolf was leaving the area. "Now I get Daria's problem with porcupines." Instantly he froze, making sure her heard right.

"What did you say?" He asked and turning around. She didn't stop and carried on walking.

"I said I'm leaving, it's what you want after all."

"No after that, stop!" So she did and looked back to him. "What did you say after that?" She sighed and turned around to face him again, hanging her head a little bit as well.

"Daria's fine, Floyd. She's ok." He was lost for words, first a wolf comes into the area, he knows Daria and even his name.

"How do you know my name? Where is she?" He grew feral again; she knew or has at least seen her.

"She's safe." She answered, turning to face him fully now. "She's well, Daria needs to do something."

"Where…is…she?"

"I can't tell you." She sighed. Why couldn't she tell him? "You have trust her, she'll come back, everything will be fine."

"What are you talking about?" He didn't understand this, her, nothing! So many questions he couldn't ask them all.

"It's not my place to say, but you have to believe me when I say she's safe and she will be. No harm shall come to her, I can assure you that. One guardian to another." She grinned again, this time with a little wink.

It was here he felt the wind blow against his back in an odd way, changing his focus from her to behind him out of curiosity. Only a second or two later he looked back to her, only she was gone. He looked around, not a scent, not a track, nothing; it was as if she was never there. He may not be very empathic, but she wasn't lying, that much he could tell. What he couldn't was how fast she was, he didn't see her anywhere or hear her move, she vanished with the wind it seems. He worried, a strange wolf that knew both him and Daria, she claims she's safe and will return. What more was there he could do? All he could do was wait and hope, keep his paws crossed and hope that she would return. But why did she leave in the first place; something he said? What has she been up to the times he's not been there, and what did that she-wolf have to do with this.

"There you are, whatever happened to "I'll never leave your side"?"

" _Does that really count? Besides, you'll thank me later."_

This was both exciting and terrifying, but more so exciting. After all, why fear something you can't see? But that's also the reason she felt that little bit scared, especially when she was left alone, even if it was only for ten minutes. She needed a break and things then went quiet, she was left with the sounds of this strange place.

Which, to be fair, sounds and smelt no different from home. They'd only been walking for a couple of hours; Daria didn't know anything, the only answer she received for all her questions were the same. _"Everything will fall into place."_ She needed to have a little trust, which these days was hard to gain from her. But still, she needed to give it out a little, should she start wondering alone she'd never get home, not one hope in hell. She started to worry about Floyd in the time she had alone, she knew by now he'd have discovered her gone. She felt so bad, no explanation, she should have left something, a note, a reason better yet. She dreaded to think what he'd be thinking, wolf-napped, killed, runaway maybe! But all these added up to the same thing she was told to stop her worrying throughout this journey and the reason she was doing this.

The reason she was doing this…This was a once in a lifetime opportunity! To see, she couldn't believe it, she was given a chance to change everything. To see Floyd's face, her own, the know colours…heck, to be normal! The source of this may seem bizarre, come on…a witch? No such thing exists; allegedly, they were stories to scare the young to sleep or not to wonder too far away. Daria had grow since then to ignore such things, but since those wolves came into her home and started all this, her thoughts have been changed, her perspective altered and bent to be a little more opened minded about the fact. And now here she was, actually following this crazy theory!

Daria's short break was no more then ten minutes, and then she was off again, being led the way the entire time with occasional light shoves and nudges. How she hadn't walked into anything yet was a mystery to her, well, unless you count two rabbit holes, a ditch and one shrub. Either way, it didn't stop her; she walked into/fell into things daily. "How much light is left?" She began to wonder aloud. She was growing tired; it had to be closing in on night soon.

" _Still plenty more, it's only just beyond mid-day. We left just before dawn, remember?"_

Time would fly more if this was more fun! Maybe the reason behind her tiredness already was due to lack of stamina? She wasn't one for running, again, she couldn't go very far before she'd hit something or forget where she was. "Well can we take another break, I'm tired."

" _Not yet, we're almost there. It's straight ahead."_

"What? Seriously?" She suddenly perked up. "I thought you said it would take days?" Daria questioned. As she continued walking, she waited for an answer, an answer that never came. She tried again; she felt no nudges and heard no reply. She worried no, had she been left alone again while she was on the move? "Where'd you go?" She stopped, not wanting to move, she wanted to make sure she could be found again, if that's how it all worked. "Hel…"

"Excuse me." She jumped and spun around at the new and much deeper voice.

"Who's there?" She demanded.

"Um…sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." The voice sounded a little closer, she could tell at least she was facing the right way so she started to back up, wanting to keep away from whatever it was.

"Who are you, what do want?" She demanded again.

"Yikes, you know what, never mind!" This male voice replied and clearly agitated. And with that she then heard paw-steps getting fainter, clearing meaning this person was moving away.

" _Don't let him leave Daria! This wolf can help us!"_

"Wolf?" She trembled at the word, all her life she was told to avoid them, and no she was being urged to go and get him back. "B-but I…"

" _Do it!"_

"Wait!" She shouted in the direction the paw-steps continued moving in, a little to her right. They stopped, from how quiet they are this wolf had to have been no more then fifteen paced away from her. "I'm s-sorry; I didn't mean to sound so demanding." Again she had no response, maybe she was wrong, maybe the reason she couldn't hear paw-steps was because no-one was around.

"I'm a little lost." The voice then said behind her, and right behind her. Again this frightened her, and stepped away and whirled around to face the wolf which, obviously, she couldn't' see. "I was wondering if you can help me."

"I…umm, I can't, sorry. I guess I'm a little lost too. _Damn it mom, where did you go?"_

"Ahh, so I guess we're both in the same boat then." He chuckled slightly. He wasn't hurting her; he wasn't demanding things off her or being hostile, as she was told all of them were.

"Not really." She replied and looking down, avoiding him seeing her eyes.

"Well, yeah. I mean, we're both lost, so we share the same problems. Maybe we could help one another."

"Oh, I wouldn't be of any use." She said bashfully again.

" _Don't let him leave!"_

"You know, I was always told it was polite to look at the person who's talking to you." He then said.

"Oh…sorry, but I…"

"I'm kidding!" He then began laughing a little bit. She didn't know what to think, never had she felt so shy, embarrassed, she struggled to look up. "But seriously…" He continued after settling down. "What are you hiding?"

"Nothing." She snapped quickly. Suddenly she felt something touch her chin; she guessed it was his paw.

"Come on, it can't be that…" He shuffled away quickly, jumping to her paws and as a result looking up. There he saw what she was trying to hide, why she couldn't be of any help. "Oh man, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to reach out like that." His whole attitude changed, even his voice. It sounded so caring, sweet even. "I'm just a little stressed; I've been hanging out with these guys that have ditched me, bad influences." She didn't answer; she only sat back down a little further away and looked to the floor again. "I'm Callen." That name, it sounded familiar, where had she heard it before?

He lifted his paw for her to shake, but quickly realised how stupid that would be and lowered it again. "I really am sorry; I didn't mean to grab at you like that."

"Callen? I've heard that name before." She then spoke and lifting her head a little bit.

"Well, it's not the most un-common name I gue…"

"It was you!" She then exclaimed when it finally hit her. "You came to my home the other day, you and those other wolves!"

"Wait, what?" He was confused, have they met already? It wasn't long until he began remembering back to a few days ago, the day before yesterday to be a little more specific. The longer he looked at her, the more he recognised her, well, from behind anyway. "Hang on, you're that girl!" He then shuffled back, remembering full well what had happened that day. He looked straight up, no dark rain clouds to be seen so no chance for freak lightening again! He didn't want to be near her!

" _And there's the snap."_

"You made that lightening come, you almost killed us!"

"It wasn't' me, I swear." She retaliated in defence and standing back around to face him a little more.

"Then what was it?"

"I don't know, there's freak weather going on around there all the time!" His whole perspective about her changed all over again. He didn't want anything to do with her, they chased her for four minutes and he was almost killed, he didn't want to be near her!

" _He's going to leave Daria, don't let him!"_

"Please, I need your help."

"My help? Are you even really blind? How did you manage to get all the way out here?"

"Like I said, I'm lost and need help." She replied a little more calmly. "I need to get somewhere and only you can help me."

"Why me? I'm sure anyone else would…" He looked around him as he said that, another stupid thing he's said now. There was nobody else around!

"You said you travel, you said you've been to those swamps where that witch was. Well I need to see her."

"I'm not into the whole travelling thing anymore; I'm looking to settle down now." He said maintaining his distance but speaking a little more calmly as well.

Daria couldn't believe what she was about to ask next, this went against everything she had been taught and against her own instincts. "What…about one of your friends, can they help me?"

"Those clowns ditched me yesterday. Woke up and they were gone, guess they thought settling down was a bad idea."

"Then you're the only person who can help me." He eyed her a minute, debating this through. In the end though, one thing came to mind.

"What would I get in return?" Callen asked daringly.

"Excuse me?" Daria questioned back in confusion.

"The swamps you say? Firstly that's a heck of a long way, secondly, there're plenty of dangers along the way. Sorry to say, but seem a bit of a waste of time unless I got something in return."

"But I have nothing to give. Look at me, what could I possibly have."

"Tempt me." He replied, a teasing grin on his face too.

" _Lie to him."_

She thought and thought, but like she said she had "nothing to give". She owned nothing; she was far from home, away from everything she knew. She wasn't one to lie, but then again she lies to Floyd everyday. She only did when it was necessary, other then that she's always as truthful, but now it was necessary. From listening to his own words she picked up on something clearly that he wanted.

"A pack?" She muttered, not sure whether to propose the idea fully. However it wasn't quiet enough.

"I'm listening." He grinned; he knew there had to be one around here somewhere.

"Y-yeah, my old pack. It's only a couple of miles away from here." She said as confidently as she could. "Help me, if you get me to those swamps. I'll tell you where they are."

A pack, somewhere to call home. It was something Callen hadn't had in a long, long time. She didn't know what to tell him when this was all over, if they even made it to those swamps. But that was another day's problem, firstly she needed a guide and this wolf was her only chance. "Do we have a deal?" She extended her forepaw. He was now the one who was sceptical about it, for many reasons. A deal with a wolf, everything she ever knew went against this. But both needed this for their own reasons. Callen thrusted his paw forwards, locking wrists with hers. Her instant reaction was to back away, but she held firm, squeezing his paw a little bit and both of them completing a single shake to confirm their arrangement.

"We have a deal." He smiled. This was easy, and although he dreaded going back to those swamps, this was the start to a new life. Every pack for the last four months has chased him away, but if what she says is true then maybe it could finally work out. "Now then, we ought to get going." Callen added and moving away. "The den I stayed in last time is not too far, but we'd better get a move on before nightfall." He looked back; she was still stood there, her expression in some what of a daze. OK, this was going to be harder then he thought. How has this girl lived so far? Not to be rude or anything, but seriously…how? "I'm over here." He sighed.

"Yeah, you really can't walk that fast I'm afraid." He giggled a little bit and catching up to him.

"Ok, that's fine, just a little speed bump we'll have to…Woah! What are you doing?" He moved away from her abruptly when she walked straight at him and grinded her side against his. She was left confused, again.

"What? I'm not going to be able to follow your voice the whole way!" She retaliated. "Just stay close enough so I can feel you." He thought for a moment she was trying something funny on with him, but then he saw sense. He couldn't talk the entire way, this was the easiest way. So with another sigh, he took a side step towards her again, b brushing his side against hers. They both flinched a little bit, Callen finding this more awkward then Daria. Trusting a complete stranger, being so close like this after a bad first encounter, a snappy first conversation and an uneasy deal, nothing about this felt right, but with luck it would play out for the both of them. "Lead the way." She smiled.

 **And another added to the story. I take back what I said previously, I don't think this story is going to turn out as short as I had hoped. None-the-less, more chapters will be on the way! Until next time! :)**

 **The FalconWolf**


	6. Chapter 6 Experiences

A Vision for Sight

Chapter 6: Experiences

Callen, a grey furred wolf with a blended in black splotches around his torso. His left ear, uniquely was completely black as well as his right foot. It was a strange look, but nothing Daria could comment about, how was she supposed to know what a normal wolf looks like? Or colours or any features as a matter of fact. She had a guess at seeing Floyd's face through touch and imagination, but doing that on hers was a little different, didn't work the same some how. But anyway, he seemed nice enough. His voice spoke honesty and trust, smooth even, clearly his intentions were good here. He spoke of the places he's been to, the things he's seen, the…incredible, sights. He's been on the road since a young age, around seven months old. He's been pretty independent; it's always been just him and his father mostly. His parents where no longer together at the time, his father re-married and his mother lived far away and being so young he didn't like moving back and forth between them.

She lived in a pack, something he loved. He had friends there, a place to call home. Whereas his Dad and step-mother moved around a lot, never staying in one place for long, but he learnt a great deal from him, how to track, hunt, fend for himself. All that was required to live by yourself, and it was with this knowledge he sought an adventure, a real place to call home anyway from everything. He set off aged eight months, surviving a month alone before he met Nick with a similar mindset. He grew bored of pack life, wanted away. He never admitted it, but Callen learnt he was a runaway, he showed all the signs through the way he spoke and acted out whenever Callen suggested settling down for a while. Soon after that the duo became a trio around their first birthday's, which were only a month apart, when Susie joined when they attempted to settle in for a while in a pack they stumbled into. But soon they were chased out, bringing Susie with them. Basically, and in plain simple terms, Nick was caught making out with the Alpha's daughter, his daughter being Susie, and not wanting to be without him she left with them. A day's walk landed them in "La Ronge Swamp" as the humans there called it; there they encountered what they believed to be a witch. From her upbringing in the pack, Susie heard stories of a witch guarded by a monster in the swamps to the east. They heard things, saw things, only briefly of course, they didn't hang around to find out what caused it.

Everything had to come to an end, only a week back Callen managed to convince them that they should try again with another pack, to relax a little more. Who knows, maybe they'll like it. Clearly not, the day after their first run in with Daria and Callen woke up alone, not a single note, a warning. Nick did seem a little hot with him that night, blaming him for what happened, him and Susie's near incineration via the lightening. Callen wanted to pursue the theory it was a pack there, but he didn't want to pursue Daria when she ran, even he didn't understand it. Since then he's been around the local area wondering on what to do next, what his next adventure must be.

So now here he is, walking that adventure back to the place he dreaded, that swamp. Only this time he had a goal, something to reach for, and it only made Daria feel bad. She promised him a pack, her old pack. It was all she could think of, remembering the very little she could from their first encounter. She promised him something she couldn't give, what would his reaction be afterwards? Either she'd tell him or he'd figure out sooner or later, she didn't know what to do. Maybe something new would come up, something better she could give to him in return for being her guide. Until then, she didn't know what she'd say when the moment came, so for now she'd just have to wing it.

Walking close together, side by side, Daria now began to trust this wolf a little more; everything she ever learnt of her kind was now out of her mind. Floyd must have been over exaggerating, sure Callen was a little snappy at first, but then so was she due to being so easily startled. Who could blame her, he understood now. There wasn't a great deal of talk going on between them, to Callen this was a simple job so there was no need to get to know one another very well. Obviously they spoke a little about one another, Callen explained his earlier life and Daria hers to the little extent she knew. Left alone when wolves were after her, raised by porcupines in Shadow Forest, something the grey wolf found pretty funny and gave them something new to talk about.

Four hours of walking now, he could see Daria was beginning to tire; ideally, he planned to stop again a bit further on from here. There was a lake coming up, he wanted to be at least on the other side of it or by the shore on this side. It was a big lake, they'd have to swim if there was no other way, walking around would add one maybe two hours onto their long journey, something he didn't want. Either way, it looked like it would be tomorrow problem. "Ok, hang on a minute." He said and coming to a stop.

"What…" Daria asked with a yawn. It wasn't exactly late, there was maybe one hour's light left. "What is it?"

"Over here, this way." He then ushered, and walking ahead. She followed his voice, straining her hearing as well to follow his paw-steps a little way. "Ok, this will do." It was a fallen pine tree, it provided shelter against rain, maybe a little against wind, they'd have to wait and see. "We'll stop here for the night, there's a lake we'll need to swim a mile east of here." Her ears instantly perked to that dreadful word.

"Swim? I can't, I don't know how?"

"You can't swim?" He asked.

"The only water to swim in back home was a river that flowed too fast, I was never taught."

"Ok, well…I guess I'll have to teach you tomorrow. It's easy, scratch and kick." He replied.

"If you say so." She giggled a little bit.

"Right…umm, stay here, and I'll be back with something to eat."

"Duh, where else can I go?" She replied sarcastically but with another little laugh. Ok, it wasn't the smartest thing he's ever said to s blind wolf; it's been a while since he had before. "I'll stay right here."

"Good, there's got to be something around here to hunt." After that she heard his retreating paw-steps "Hunt", what does that mean? She pondered the meaning; she's heard Floyd mention it from time to time. She was sure it was another word for find, track down, yeah, it must be. Some berries would be good now, oh she really wanted some. She took the time she had alone to familiarise herself with her new surroundings. She scented to air, Callen mentioned a lake, she could smell a large body of water not very far away. She perked her ears, straining out her hearing, birds, crickets, breaking trees via the light breeze. She started moving around, just remembering where everything close by was, a few trees, the fallen one that would be their shelter for the night and a thistle bush, that she learnt to hard way if you know what I mean. It must have been half an hour Callen was gone before she heard him panting and coming back, or so she assumed.

"Callen?" She asked just to be sure.

"Food's here…come on back." He replied with a lack of breath. She followed his somewhat heavy breathing back to him. "One each, dig in." She felt something pushed against her paws, but what? And one each? Defiantly, can't be berries. She lowered her head, while doing so Daria heard Callen crunching on something, clearly the same life that was in front her. She sniffed a few times, a sweet, thick, heavy smell, yet something familiar coming to mind. It didn't smell too bad. She lay down, using her forepaws to steady it before she started biting into it. Crunchy, chewy and runny, but honestly it really wasn't that bad at all, it was actually pretty good! She swallowed, relishing the after taste; how come she hadn't had anything like this before?

"Ahh man, there's nothing like a bit good bit of rabbit." Callen sighed with a bit grin. Daria quickly swallowed her piece.

"Rabbit, like, the animal?" She asked curiously.

"Yeah, heard anything else called that before?" He chuckled.

"No, it's just, so you caught this? You…killed it?"

"Duh, a wolf's got to eat, right?" She didn't feel bad, why was this. He looked up to her, now seeming hesitant about finishing her meal after only two or three bites. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just…"

"Have you ever hunted before? I mean, how have you been eating all this time?"

"Floyd takes me to nearby berry bushes, soft bark, an occasional bone he said he found lying around."

"So you've never had meat before?" She shook her head. "Man, I'm travelling with a vegetarian." He then started laughing lightly.

"Not anymore." She smiled, taking a leg and pulling to then eat it. "Once this is done, I'm going to be more independent, fend for myself and help the others."

"So this is better then berries?"

"Way better."

The following day, day broke out faster then they could've expected. They were on the move soon after, Callen had a goal he wanted to reach before nightfall; everything was planned out in his mind already. But the first obstacle today was the lake, this lake wasn't big in width, but it was almost three miles long, the easiest and quickest way was go swim straight through it. Only luck seemed to be on their side, Daria heard talking to closer they got, so sneaking in closer and looking over a hedge Callen saw a perfect opportunity. He grinned from ear to ear, this was way faster then swimming, not to mention teaching Daria first. "It's a boat." He told her. "There are humans around it, looks like they're about to leave too." She knew very little about the species, only they were very strong, powerful and would kill anything they saw given the chance. "Never get in a human's way" Floyd told her occasionally, they were strange creatures that stood on their back legs, wore different furs on their bodies, they all looked different. They were clever, they designed and rode around on contraptions to move quickly and clearly this "boat" was one of them.

"This is great." He said and still looking around. "We can get across in half the time; we just need a way on."

"Seriously? We shouldn't be near them!"

"It's the fastest way, give us more time to get to our next overnight stop. We can't let this pass." He narrowed in his vision, trying to spot a way on board. He didn't see any weapons of any kind, that was a good sign, other then that he didn't see…Wait, there, just to the left of the boat around fifteen feet away was a wooden crate, empty, perfect.

"We're going to smuggle ourselves in." He told her and moving back again. "There's a box just over there, we can hide and they'll take us on board."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Nope, but come on, what's the worst that could happen."

"Anything could happen." Daria he seethed, cramming herself further to the side. This box wasn't the most comfortable place she's been. Callen pulled back a little more on the rope conveniently tied to the middle of the box's lid to wedge it on. The humans had already carried them after stealthily creeping around to into the box, all that kept them hidden was Callen's ability to keep his mouth shut, quite literally, and keep pulling on the rope. With an abrupt movement the box was dropped with a bang and then they lay still, they were now on board, surrounded by humans.

"Damn, what's in this thing?" One of the two humans asked.

"Not a clue, but it's heavy, so it must be important." The second answered.

"Tell you what; if it's camera equipment I'm not carrying out there afterwards."

"This is so stupid, what was wrong with walking?" Daria grumbled.

"It would've taken too long." Callen answered to the best he could with the rope in his mouth. He gave a give jerk of his head, hoping it would wedge the lid on seeing as it was still on its side. He let go, it stayed where it was, now getting out was the new problem. "You worry too much, just relax, everything will be ok."

"I'm relaxed; I just thinking walking was s smarter idea."

"Scared much, are you?" He smirked.

"Why be scared of something you can't see?" She replied with a gruff.

"All the better to be."

The boat started to shake and emit a horrid rumbling noise from underneath them, indicating they were now moving. Daria, again, jumped a little bit at the sudden movement, Callen didn't flinch. "You don't need to act tough you know, you've got every right to be scared."

"But I'm not." She said and standing up straighter.

"I've been where you are, you know."

"Blind and surrounded by humans with no way out?" She replied sarcastically. "Because if not you know nothing."

"Being in a strange place, with a stranger, with no idea where you're going. I've been doing that for the last year almost." She understood now what he was talking about, so maybe they did have something in common. "You know, my grandma, from the little I remember of her, she was blind too." Daria lifted her head, looking at him through those clouds in her eyes. "It just started getting worse the older she got, practically as blind as a bat the last I remember."

"Where are you going with this?"

"No, where are you going with this?" He reversed back onto her. "She said she'd "never try to get her sight back, it was the way things were meant to be". So why are you willing to go all this way?"

"Because it's normal to lose things like that when you're older, not when you're born." Daria answered. "I want to help out more back home, but be a huge responsibility to everyone." She sighed. "I want to see things, colours, trees, grass, Floyd. Is that a little too much to ask?"

"No, it's not. But…"

"Why are you asking this?"

"I'm just trying to get to know you a little better." He said. "We're going to be spending a lot of time together, why not understand why you really want this?"

"Ok then, why are you trying to help me?" She asked back curiously.

"I want to settle down, I want to live in a pack, not be so dependant, not wanting to have to look over my shoulder constantly. I'd like someone to have my back, which is what Nick and Susie did, but they didn't want to same. Is that a little too much to ask?" She sensed him smile a little bit during his remark, causing her too as well.

Suddenly, the box was slammed to the side, throwing Daria over Callen; as a result he was pushed back against the box's lid which gave away. They rolled out, the cause of all this was a sharp turn the boat made, which now left Callen lying over Daria, their minds still spinning and trying to figure out what just happened. "Sorry boys, sand bank, we'll have to go around it!" One of the humans shouted.

"No worries skip…" A second human shouted back up to the first human as he walked around the crate unable to finish when he gazed down at them. "Guys, there's wolves on the boat!" He bellowed and backing away a few steps before turning around and running to the front of the boat.

"Come on, get up we've got to go." Callen grabbed Daria and yanked her to her paws.

"Quick, quick, they're around here at the back!" That human shouted.

"Where are they?" She said, this time not trying to hide her fear.

"Quick, to the back of the boat." He ushered. Speaking of the boat, it quietened down, slowing too. They scrambled to the back of the boat near its engines, as far away from them as they could get.

"Where to now?"

"I don't know, I'm thinking alright!" Callen said in panic.

"They're back here!" There was four…five, no, six of these humans, four males and two females, one of which held a rifle of some kind. Callen had seen what they can do; he's been shot at a few times in these last couple of months but was yet to know what happened if it hit you.

"Oh man." He muttered. Looking around, there was no way out. He turned, leaping up onto the boat's rails and peaking over. There was the shore around fifty wolf lengths away; it was close enough to swim away quickly. But then he remembered Daria couldn't swim.

The humans closed in, quietly talking among themselves as what to do with their stowaways. "Hey, look at that." One of the men pointed out towards the female wolf. They all focused on that one. A woman stood beside him, shuffling her glasses up her nose a little further to see more clearly.

"She's blind; looks like her cataracts might be infected."

"She's a young wolf, adolescent it seems. Surely she's too young for that to happen?" Another man added wielding the rifle added.

"Callen what are we going to do!" Daria seethed.

"I'm thinking alright!" He snapped back.

"We've got medicine." The woman said. "Tranquiliser too, we'll drug them, treat that one and let them go by the shore. The less stress the better."

If only wolves could understand humans…"Catch me." Daria said.

" _Don't you even think about it!"_

"What?" Callen gruffed.

"I can't swim so you'll have to catch me." She said and turning to face the rails.

"You can't be seriously." He exclaimed.

"Daria just think this through!"

"Oh god, don't let them jump over!" The boats skipper shouted.

"Hurry!" She bent down and quickly jumped, pushing her leg up and pulling herself over.

" _DARIA!"_

Callen saw the humans running at them, instinct kicked in and he fled, following after Daria and leaping over and into the water. The water here wasn't very deep, maybe that's what that human meant by "sand bank", it was just an incredibly shallow part to the lake in the middle of it. The water here was just over his length from nose to tail tip in depth, so Callen pushed off the bottom and swam up, gasping for air as soon as he reached the surface.

The humans were drifting away, clearly the boat was still moving but very slowly. "CALLEN!" He whirled around; Daria splashed around and struggled to keep her head above the surface. He was quick to react, it was a good thing she was practically right next to him. He swam around her, taking her scruff in his jaws and pulling towards the shore.

"Kick!" He said.

"I…can't…"

"Remember what I said, scratch…and kick!" He pulled, and she did as she was told, she scratched with her fore paws outwards and she was dragged backwards, and kicked downwards, giving them both some more buoyancy. He did the majority of the work; she just gave them a little aid. She still spluttered, he sank multiple times, using the bottom of the sand back to push them both up again. It was this shallow for the rest of that fifty feet until gracefully the water started to shallow out further, allowing them both to started walking, to then crawling, to then eventually lying spaced out on the lake's sandy shore. They panted heavily, from both freight and exhaustion, Callen more then Daria of course.

"Now…that was…easy." She gasped.

"You're stupid…" He replied. He turned back onto his front, his shaking legs finding the strength to push himself up to nudge Daria up. "Come on, we've got to keep moving.

On the boat, the six humans just stood and watched, gradually, one by one returned to their posts, leaving the two vets and the boats skipper. "We can't just let them go." The female vet said firmly. "That wolf has a zero percent survival out there."

"I've got to admit, out of all the dumb things she's dragged me into, this isn't one of them."

"We've already got a job, population recon, that's it."

"Just think of the report though!" The man said. "Our surgery needs a story like this, beside; wolves haven't been seen in these areas for a long time. The closest groups are down south in Jasper; this would be great for our conservation park."

"And you, sir, would be the captain that made it all possible.

The idea was intriguing, the reason he loved working out here so much was for the wildlife and the off chance he'd see something new, so far, nothing, until today. A chance to secure a new species to the area was at his doorstep, they'd be remembered for this in the community. "We finish the job." He told them bluntly. "Only then can we try and help them."

Daria and Callen moved a little further into the trees, just to be sure they were out of the human's sight and safe before taking to time to ring out their furs and dry off. Callen twisted around, shaking off every square inch of his body to remove every drop. Daria had already done this and was now licking down her fur to neaten it off. "That was a really stupid thing you did back there." He repeated for the umpteenth time now. "We would've found another way without you almost killing yourself.

"Really, name one." She replied and continuing what she as done. She didn't hear him answer. "Besides…" She continued when she was satisfied. "We didn't die, we got out and nothing bad happened. We can keep moving on."

" _You got lucky. Listen to him; you can't do things like that out here."_

"You lighten up too." She whispered.

"What did you say" He asked.

"Nothing, we should keep moving, still want to get to that place before nightfall right." She said with a smile he found rather annoying, it was smug, a smile that suggested instantly she won this argument or there was no point in trying to. He grumbled to himself, muttering a few annoyed words before letting her lean against him and the two moved on travelling further into the east.

 **Mixed emotions, got to love them and hate them. Brainstormed this one, maybe a little too quickly, so let me know how you think it turned out. Until next time! :)**

 **The FalconWolf**


	7. Chapter 7 Imagine

A Vision for Sight

Chapter 7: Imagine

Callen lead Daria a little further away from the lake shore, he wanted to be out of sight from those human before they could work on drying off. One hundred paces later, they started to do just that, shaking off dry and licking down spiked patches. Being the typical guy, Callen didn't think much to his appearance, besides, Daria couldn't exactly judge his looks could she? She even had a similar mindset, she didn't even know what she looked like, let alone what was untidy and where? So after Callen was satisfied with his "hard work" and the two had settled a little argument over Daria's big mistake, he offered to get some breakfast. He headed back towards the lake; fish was the only thing he could think of that he'd find here. Not to mention the accompanied smell of bears; nothing fresh thankfully, but it indicated the lake was rich with the prey ripe for the taking. _"That was a really stupid thing you did."_ Daria stretched out her hearing, if a conversation was about to begin between them then she didn't want him hearing. She heard nor smelt any indication he was near.

"Well it worked didn't it?" She responded while sitting up. "There was no other way out of there, we alive so that's the main point."

" _What if he didn't get to you in time? You could've died."_

"Weren't you the one who said I had to trust him? I was doing exactly that!" She retaliated, maybe a little too loudly. Callen happened to be on his way back, hearing her little outburst. Was someone with her? Had she been found by someone? With the two fish tightly gripped in his mouth he hurried quickly and quietly, the element of surprise was in his favour.

"I don't get you problem." She continued and now standing up.

" _My problem is you never think things through. That little stunt could have cost you your life!"_

"I didn't see you helping out or coming up with a solution. But then again what have you got to worry about?"

" _You, you're all I worry about."_

"Well there's not a lot you can do for me while Callen's here."

"Daria!" Shed whirled around at the sound of his shout. By the volume of his paw-steps he was coming towards her at around ten paces away. "Where'd they go?" He then dropped something.

"Where'd who go?" She questioned back quickly.

"There was someone here, I heard you, who were you talking to?" He was sure she heard her talking, but the other wolf's voice he did not. There was no scent, so it added to her side of the story.

"Me, I was just talking to myself I mean."

"Sounded quite detailed for talking to yourself." He didn't see any tracks, prints, nothing to indicate that she was lying. There was nothing to say there was someone here, so what choice did he have but to believe her. So with a gruff he turned back towards her to see she was sniffing in the direction of the fish. "Let me guess, you've never had fish before?"

"I've never even heard of it until now, but it smells good." She replied after a few big inhales. "What is it? Like a rabbit?"

"Defiantly not, these live in water. And in my opinion taste way better."

"Really?" She was intrigued, showing this by cocking her head to the side a bit.

"Take one and try it." He chuckled, walking over towards her and shuffling one to her paws so she could feel where it was. Instantly, she reeled her paw away from it when feeling it. "Urgh…It's slippery!" She exclaimed.

 **Moment's later…**

"Woah…you were right." It's amazing how a wolf's mind can be changed in but a few minutes. Every morsel was gone from both of them.

"I've seriously got to show you the best meats out there. Elk, Salmon I've heard seagulls aren't that bad if you can get them." All three creatures she's never heard of before, let alone tasted. But the sound of them and the way Callen described them only added to the mystery and hope of one day tasting them.

"Are they heard to catch, is anything easy?"

"Depends really." Callen replied while digging his tongue to his back teeth to dislodge a piece. "Seagulls are the hardest; they fly away before you even get close. Things like elk have antlers that can do some serious damage. Hunting those things was a three wolf job; hunting is so much easier when you've got others around.

"Hence why you want a pack?"

"Exactly, I want others to have my back just as much." He smiled. "Are we all done then?"

"Yep, I guess so. Moving on?"

"We need to, there's a Valley to the west of here, we'll head north to go around it, bit more of a shortcut I think. We'll stop off there but we'll need to pick up the pace if we want to make it before it gets dark." Callen said as he stood up, his movements making Daria do so as well. "Come here then." He added, touching her shoulder to allow her to move closer.

"Off we go."

Alice was a great upcoming Vet along with her partner Thomas; those two wolves could give them exactly what they needed. They had a practise, a surgery, a place to work, but nothing to get attention, customers. That's why they were out here, the idea was, with some colleagues, friends and a hired skipper and tracker, they'd expand their knowledge and branch into wildlife health, starting off with some population recon of various species on the area. They had cameras, the boat, the guide, they just needed that break. Those two wolves were that break! One male and female, a travelling pair perhaps? But the female, her eyes seemed to bear some kind of infection. Alice, lucky for her, had her photographer behind her who managed to snap some pictures of the two on board before they leapt over the railings. They were great due to how fast they had to be taken, but they were something. It was her cataracts from what she could tell, a severe case too. How long she was like this they'd never know, could be resent or could be since birth. What they needed to know was if it was treatable, if it was then the it was the great story they needed. "Still pondering over those pictures?"

Thomas was stood beside her after placing a rucksack on the floor beside her. "I just think we need to stop this and go after them. The longer we wait here the further they get and we'll loose them. And I doubt the skipper is that good of a guide." She gestured towards him by the beach of the lake talking his own friend who'd be taking care of the boat while he wasn't around. "We need to stop this and go with this." She waved the camera in front of his face.

"He's set." He sighed. "We paid him for this, not that." He tapped the camera screen.

"If only there was some way we could follow them or find them after." He sighed as well. He glanced down at the camera screen, his eagle eyes setting on one fine detail.

"Well we can, we'll just use that." He pointed to the male wolf, more specifically his shoulders.

"What?" She responded dumbfounded, what could he see she couldn't. He had to admit, it was the clearest photograph or the easiest to see. He took the camera off her, he zoomed in and using the settings he was able to clear it up a little bit. It was a good thing this was a good camera, technology these days. Now it was cleaned up a little bit, he could show her what she couldn't see. This was the reason he was the surgical vet, he had a good eye for small detail. Now she understood, it blended in so well with the wolf's fur. A black wire, seemingly coming from his shoulder, but actually it came from behind his left ear. No more then two inches long, but the main reason it stood out was due to the faint green light just about visible now. The length of the wolf's fur around that area would have hidden it well even if it was standing right in front of them. "He's got a tracker." She grinned.

"If we're fast enough, we'll get this done by tomorrow night. Then I'll speak to Skip and see if he's willing to take us. We've got the gear but it'll be safer if he came, he knows this place after all."

"You…are just amazing!" She exclaimed. "I'm going to get the tracking device; if we can get the frequency of the tracker then we'll be in business."

"You seem to have no worries about the humans." Daria wondered as they walked on. It was starting to grow late now, the day a little over an hour away from setting, so they plodded along a little faster to make their overnight stop. But then again Callen wasn't even sure where that was. But anyway, this question was something Daria had on her mind since this morning and Callen was more then happy to answer, he'd been so honest in his questions and she had been, more or less. She felt bad for lying to him, about this pack she promised, but maybe they'd come across one that he'd like and he'd stay there in stead.

"I've had a few close shaves with them." He answered. "This one time, me and the others found a group of them when I felt this huge sting in my side. I got real sleepy real quick, when I woke up they were stood back and Susie told me how I was out for about an hour, but I was fine when apparently they did all kinds of things. So I guess not all humans are bad."

"I heard they all were."

"Me too, but I get the feeling some just want to help."

"Did your parents ever teach you "stranger danger"?" She giggled, making him laugh a little bit as well.

"Yup, so that's why I'm now saying it better to be safe then sorry and to stay away anyway." He came to a stop, doing this obviously made Daria do so also. "Ok, we'll stay here, I don't know about you but I'm beat. I can't go on any longer." He finished yawning; there was no shelter here so they'd have to pray it didn't rain. They were out in the hope.

"Hang on, can't you smell that?" Daria stated and flaring her nostrils. "Over here." She followed her nose down to a tree base. Yeah, she actually walked into the thing which Callen found a little funny before he took a more serious expression. It was a musky, thick smelling odour, Callen had come across this many a time and the last wasn't a good one. "That's a wolf."

"It's scent marking, we're on the border of someone's territory." He was now worried and Daria sensed it.

"Well this is good right? What if we carry on and maybe they'll give us a den for the night?"

"Nuh uh, not a good idea. Packs around here can be quite feral, there's a pack a little further south of here which I've heard is pretty terrifying. We've got to tread carefully. Now before they pick up our scent." She felt him nudge against her.

"Where are we going?"

"The wind's coming this way, I'm pretty sure the wind's coming from the east so let's get downwind and we'll be ok." She however didn't move with him, she kept firm.

"We'll be ok here, the pack is that way, can't you smell?" She questioned. The scent moved in that direction, there were many scents here of wolves, the strongest being that one by the tree, but they all went that way. Clearly she had a better sense of smell then him. "I say we just stay here, and we'll go around them tomorrow when we can see better."

"I don't know…"

"Listen, if you didn't already know but I've got ridiculously good hearing, and I'm a pretty light sleeper, I'm sure we'll be fine." He looked her in the eye as she looked towards him. He had to admit, she did seem to have good senses, but all that seemed understandable, relying on other senses to survive they would become more sensitive. He felt like he should trust her, was this some way of helping him out, because so far he's done all the work. He sighed; he had to give this a shot.

"Ok, we'll stay here." Really he just said this because of how tired he was; he just needed to close his eyes right now. She smiled; he was starting to trust her now. He sighed and let his legs give way, curling up a little bit and resting his head down. She shuffled a little closer to him and did the same and got herself comfortable.

" _He's getting more comfortable around you it seems."_

"Goodnight." She whispered.

"Yeah…night." Callen mumbled.

" _I'm watching over you, my baby, nobody will hurt you."_

The following morning all was well, it was daylight so that was Callen's excuse for hiding his eyes under his tail. Daria was already awake, she had been for the last half an hour, she didn't sleep that bad to be honest, she was worried a little to begin with, hanging no shelter and all but it really wasn't that bad. She occupied herself with a little challenge, how good was her listening skills. _"Down and to your right a little bit."_ So she dragged her claw that way. _"Ok now stop. Now move a little over to the left and do the same."_ This was her task this morning, she'd grown quite interested in this, so this was a rather tricky task for her, she'd be very impressed if this came out ok.

"Well?"

" _Umm…I don't know, I think it's missing something."_

"Like…" She tapped her claws against the tree's bark, waiting to continue. But then…

"What is that?" How did she not hear him wake up? He then yawned, boy this wolf was sneaky!

"Nothing." She retaliated and sitting back against the tree to hide it.

"Come on, don't be stupid, what's back there."

"Nothing, now come on, let's keep going before that pack comes around." She insisted. There was a moment of silence, what was he doing? He was in front of her, that she could tell, she could feel his warmth and hear his breathing.

"Ok, fine this way." He stood up and held his paw toward her shoulder so she could find him. Big mistake, she thought his forepaw was his body and he got a full vision of what she was hiding.

"What is that?" He yanked his paw away and she instantly knew what he was on about.

"Hey, I said don't." There was no point in hiding anything now. What he saw…well, that would be a good question. There was a circle, on the top were two pointed parts and in the middle was some elongated unfinished circle. Was it supposed to be some kind of face? "I was trying to draw something, how did it come out?" How should he say this, it was bad, like REALLY bad. But who was to blame her, she was blind! He had to give her some credit.

"It's good, considering that you can't even see it."

" _I said it was missing something."_

"You probably did better then me with my eyes closed. Wait, is it a face? Like a wolf's face."

"You can make that out?" She replied dumbfounded and moving in closer.

"The more I think about it, yeah." He nodded. "I can make that out. But why were you doing this?"

"I got bored, that was it." She replied. He narrowed in his eyes at a certain part of the attempted drawing, a part that didn't make much sense, a random little dot towards the left eye and by the nose. He wondered…he reached up and felt along his nose, near the base and towards his own left eye. A small scar he had there, just one dot, he received this from running into a tree branch a few months ago. But that wasn't the issue, nor was the fact this was clearly an attempted drawing of him. Now, the issue was this…how the heck does a blind wolf know you have a scar and exactly where?! Was it just a random error, it can't be, her paw didn't slip, there was no sign of it. It was put there on purpose! "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He answered, lowering his paw but never taking his eyes off it.

"It was supposed to be you; sorry to sound creepy but was trying to figure out what you look like."

"Really?" He now looked to her, a visible flush of red by her cheeks. "You could've asked, I'd have described myself as best I could."

"It's ok; it's weird enough as it is." She couldn't help but smile a little bit and look away in the direction they needed to go. "It's this way, right?"

"Hang on a sec." So she stopped. "Come here, let me show you something."

"Seriously?" She responded, was he being serious.

"Just trust me." She heard him walk around her and sit in front of her, she didn't know what to do but she copied his actions and sat before him. Then she felt him take her paws and lift them up, a few wobbles later and he rested them on his shoulders.

"Ok, I trust you but this is a little weird now." She laughed lightly.

"Remember I told you my grandma started going blind." She nodded. "Well occasionally she'd ask me if I'd do this for her, it's the only way she could see my face." She didn't really understand, how was she supposed to see him like this? Unless…her paws, she's done something similar before. She slid her paw up his neck towards his head and while she did so he placed his on the ground to keep them both steady. She inched her paws higher towards his cheeks, curiosity consuming her mind as awkwardness flooded Callen's. It was one thing to do it with your grandmother, but with someone you've know for a few days? It was just weird, but she seemed to get something out of hit. He closed his eyes as her paws brushed across his face, her imagination coming into play. Now she understood, she could see him! Her mental mind map of her area back home, it was the same principle, just feel and memorise. A picture started to build in her head, Callen's face.

"Woah." Why hadn't she thought of this before with Floyd? His cheekbone, muzzle, lips, a small scar by his nose, every detail and she could see it!

" _Now that's one handsome young wolf._ "

" _Why did you never tell me of this?"_ Daria thought.

" _Because I never thought of it either."_

This was mind-blowing; there was a way to see without eyes! But she had to admit, there was indeed a level of handsomeness around this wolf, or was that right word? There was something there. She smiled, this was great! He smiled knowing she was happy, that he could provide her a new experience. Suddenly he heard something, paw-steps. He looked to his right, his eyes widening and heart rate accelerating a bit too. "Daria…"

"Hang on, I can't forget this."

"Daria stop." He insisted and taking her paws of him and placing them back down.

"You." Said the tall Alpha stood there.

"We don't mean any trouble, we're just passing through." Callen stood in front of Daria. It was then four more Alpha wolves emerged from the hedges behind him, two either side and all four looking just as big and strong.

"Callen, what's happening?" Daria whispered.

"Just stay there." He seethed back to her.

"You're both going to have to come with us." The same Alpha said and taking a step towards them.

"Yeah, ok…We'll come."

 **Hey guys, it's been a while, right? Sorry for being so late, I've been away for a week and have had very little time lately to do any writing. Got idea, just no time to get them down, but here's one for you now, I hope I haven't lost anyone due to these long pauses. Anyway, read and review, let me know what you think. Until next time. :)**

 **The FalconWolf**


	8. Chapter 8 Home Sweet Home

Vision for Sight

Chapter 8: Home Sweet Home...

These wolves weren't rough with them, there was no barging, shoving or demanding, nothing like Callen worried about. They were understanding, is the best way to say it. It was obvious the she-wolf he travelled with was blind, so they didn't walk at full speed. Everyone once in a while however they were asked to "hurry up" or "turn that way", but neither he nor Daria sensed they wanted to hurt them, not at this current time anyway. This time Callen wanted Daria to stay close, these wolves were big, muscular, trained, Alpha clearly, all of them, so she had her side pressed against his firmly the entire time. Admittedly, she as scared, Callen was scary enough at first when they first met, but now these were, apparently, bigger then him and far stronger, this was a serious situation.

The scents of other wolves grew stronger, scent marking covered this area, her intuition and guesses suggested they were getting closer to the pack. The alphas surrounding them didn't speak a word to them other then the occasional order to hurry up and so on, a few whispers between them maybe, but other then that, nothing. They must have been walking for another hour before the scent was at its not strongest, the heart of the territory. Evidently this wasn't a very big one, but that only meant there were more of these wolves in a smaller area. Sooner enough, she started to hear hushed whispers, some closer then others. She could make them out, they had to be several paces away though, and there wasn't many of them.

Suddenly Callen, and therefore her, came to a stop and still nobody spoke. Other then her anyway when she realised this. "What's happening?" She whispered. Callen looked ahead, a wolf walked towards him while an Alpha approached that wolf. There territory seemed to be based around a large and long cliff to his left, small dens dug all along it, several of them. From what he could see there had to be twenty wolves in this area, not the biggest pack he's come across. Was this it?

"I think it's their leader, he's come to see us." The alpha speaking to the brown furred leader whispered, barely audible to Daria. She could make out simple words like "Trespassers", "Around the hills" and "Judgement". But then she could hear walking, someone was walking towards them. She felt Callen move from her. "Just stay here and don't say anything." The leader still approached. "We don't want any trouble sir, let us introduce…" He must have taken five steps by the time he extended his paw and had five of the large Alpha wolves block him and emitted the deepest growl he'd heard in a long time. He gulped, lowering his paw and ears, big mistake.

"Now, now Alphas, I can see these two are harmless." The leader only smiled as he stepped through and the Alphas that took only one step away, ready to react to anything. "My name is Lucas, sorry for that, we're a rather tight pack here."

"No, I understand, sorry."

"So what are you two doing in our territory?" He questioned, glimpsing around Callen and back at Daria.

"We were just passing through; we were going to rest were your guys found us for the night and move on tomorrow."

"So honest." He continued to smile, abruptly looking Callen up and down. "Tell me son, are you an Alpha?" It was a subject Callen never really spoke of, Daria kept her head down and listened in, she wasn't sure what they were talking about.

"I was going to be." He sighed. "But I never went to learn to become one, I've had a confusing personal life that stopped me and I'd rather not go there."

"And what about your friend back there, can she speak?" Callen looked back to Daria, still with her head down but ear pointed towards them.

"Yeah, but she's pretty shy to be honest. We're travelling companions; we met only a few days ago. She's kind of in the same situation as me, she never went either."

"Such a shame." Lucas nodded in understanding. "Wolves don't survive on their own, yet you two seemed to have done pretty well for yourselves."

Two alphas stood to the sides, glances at one another, Lucas never really got along this well with a trespasser this quickly. Sure he seemed to be in a good mood this evening, but this was something strange and therefore a rare sight.

"Well, I've been able to hunt and fend for myself since a young age, and Daria back there has some good senses, we're kind of the perfect team we are." That time Daria couldn't help but flush a light red in her cheeks and under her fur.

" _He's got a point though."_

"Tell you what, because I like you boy, we'll give you a den for the night and you're free to leave in the morning whenever you're ready. You're welcome to stay, we can train you up, we always want good Alphas like yourself." Did he really just hear that right? Could it be? Had he found a pack he always wanted? A place he was welcome, it only just sounded to easy. He grinned ear to ear, a little swish of his tail confirmed to Lucas he liked to idea. But Callen didn't want to seem so enthusiastic at first.

"I'd really like that, thank you sir. But I promised Daria that I'd take her somewhere first, I'd be honoured to stay afterwards however."

"I'd very much like that. What you'll need to do for me though is come and find me at some point today. Can you do that?" Lucas added.

"Sir…" The Alpha next to the leader hushed before Callen could answer. "He's a trespasser, we don't know anything about them, are you sure this is a good idea?"

"I'm confident that these wolves will behave themselves in our company." Lucas said turning back to Callen. Looking to his right, Lucas caught sight of a she-wolf walking by, seemingly not having a care in the world about what was happening.

"Lois!" He called to her, instantly making her come straight to him. "We have guests, find them a suitable den and make them welcome."

"Course." She nodded before looking to Callen. "Come this way." Callen took a step back to retrieve Daria, as soon as she felt his tail she caught up to him, thanking Lucas herself as they passed.

Instantly however, as soon as they were out of earshot Lucas turned to his Beta wolf beside him. "Ask around if anyone knows them, we never get trespassers, they could be spies for all we know." He knew Lucas was never this trusting, so it was all an act.

"The she-wolf sir, did you see? She was blind."

"I saw, do as I ask, I have my own theory I need to check."

This "Lois" led them towards that big cliff where every other den was. Funnily enough, she took them to one right on the very end towards the right side nearest a river. She didn't really talk much, and those responses she did give were quiet, she seemed to be almost the shy type. The wolves they passed though, they all had similar postures and characteristics, tight, organised, strong, alert, it made him think.

"Ok, this one's yours." Lois said as they reached the entrance. It wasn't much; it was maybe enough to fit three wolves comfortably, all the dens they passed, from the little he saw, seemed to be around the same, maybe some bigger then others. "This one hasn't been used in a while, so it should be good enough."

"It's fine, thank you." Callen said, guiding Daria inside before turning around to her. As Lois was about to leave, however, Callen had to ask his question.

"Hey." So she stopped. "Where are all the Omegas?"

"There haven't been any here for a long time."

"So…everyone here is an Alpha?"

"Yeah, only strong wolves stay here, the weak don't belong." She didn't seem happy about it; something in her voice just suggested it to Daria as she listened. "Look, if you need anything I'm only four dens down the way, have a good day now."

"Great, again, thank you." This time however, just as he was turning around she then stopped him by asking a question.

"I'm sorry, but your friend, how blind is she?"

"Excuse me?" He asked with a little humour, wasn't exactly the politest way to go around asking that.

"I know it's not my place, but Lucas can't know." She whispered. "He's strict when it comes to who can stay."

"Really? He seemed more then happy to let us."

"Just don't get your hopes high." She said cautiously. "Stay for as long as you need, and then leave before something bad happens. If not to you, then to her." She gestured into the den where Daria sat licking down her fur.

"I'll keep it in mind." He said. She nodded, and with that turned around and left to retreat to her own duties for the day. What did she mean by that? Surely she was over-reacting; he seemed like a good guy. After all, this was the most welcoming pack he's come across in a long time, suppose he ought to enjoy it while it lasts.

He walked into the depths of the den to find a spot to rest. "I don't know about you. But this pack is kinda weird. Are they all like this?" Daria said after being sure nobody could hear.

"I'll admit, it's not the most normal pack. I've never heard of an Alpha only pack."

"You said I was an "Alpha", what does that mean?"

"I was just trying to make us sound tougher then we actually are." He chuckled and lying down before her. He could see however that she really didn't have a clue what the difference between the two ranks was. "Simply put, there are two kinds of wolves, Alphas hunt and protect the pack because they tend to be faster, stronger and are up to the task. Omega's are the peace keepers; they stop the fights and remind everyone to lighten up."

"And you were going to be one?"

"Yeah, I left my pack though before I was taught how to be one. My dad gave me some pointers before I did though as you already know."

"And you think I'm one too?"

"You've got a good sense of hearing and smell, that's great for hunting. Most Alphas would kill for something like that."

" _You should feel privileged."_

"But I'm missing the key part though, aren't I?" She giggled and lying down also. "So when do we leave tomorrow?"

"I want to see if I can talk to Lucas before we go. I'm really tempted to take him up on his offer."

Lois wasn't really one to talk to wolves she didn't know, especially ones who brought back bad memories. She was indeed one of the quiet ones, liking to keep to herself most of the time and only speaking when need be. She did though have a sense of curiosity, having outsiders come here was a rare occurrence; Lucas NEVER allowed them to come in let alone be given a place to sleep. He had to be up to something, he wanted them to stay here, but why? Again, it wasn't any of her business, she had her own to deal with. Her first stop was stopping off at her own den she shared with her brother. They made a good team; all they had was one another. He was in his usual place at this time in the morning, sat outside taking in the morning and who was about. "Not on the hunt today?" He questioned as she approached.

"Not until this evening, the plans changed as the herd aren't moving down yet."

"Seriously, again?" He whined as she sat down beside him.

"Nothing we can do, just got to wait them out." She sighed, just getting relaxed.

"How are those outsiders? They looked pretty spooked when we found them out in the hills."

"They're ok; I warned them not to stay long. Whether they listen or not is up to them."

"But hey…" He nudged her side and making her look up to him. "How many memories did that girl bring back?" He grinned.

"I don't remember much back then, an image or two." She answered and zoning out. "I sometimes thought they were just dreams, but yeah, she brought them back." Lois's head began to lower as she dwelled on the memories of her lost sister, but she knows all was done for a good reason. He nudged her head up again.

"We'll find her some day, mom took good care of her, I know it. We'll find them both."

"Dad thought so." And getting back up, she couldn't rest long. "I've got things to do today, if any of them come here howl for me, Lucas asked me to help them with anything."

"Course, stay safe sis.

 **Short little chapter today guys, sorry it took so long. Big part here, for those that have seen this film will have a better understanding of what's going on and where they actually are. But we shall see, how are things going to play out from here? Honestly, I don't really know! Until next time! :D**

 **The FalconWolf**


	9. Chapter 9 Painful Getaway

Vision for Sight

Chapter 9: Painful Getaway

Something didn't seem right about this pack, and it wasn't the fact they were an Alpha only pack, it was how they acted in the last hour Callen had watched them. The looks they would give him as he sat outside his and Daria's little den, the way adults would talk to their young, so much authority. It was something he wasn't used to, maybe that was it. He still wanted to see Lucas, even with the strange behaviour of these wolves he was seriously considering on taking him up on that offer to stay. This was the first place he's come across that's welcomed him rather then chased him away, this was an opportunity that he didn't want to let slip away from him. He had a rough idea where his den was; many of the wolves here came and went from the den right at the far end of the cliff, possibly getting their orders from him there? It was worth a look.

Looking back into the den, Daria approached from her little nap, yawning as she did. "What time is it?" She yawned. He smirked and looked back across the pack.

"How did you know I was here?"

"I could hear you breathing; you were right when you said I have good hearing." She giggled and sitting next to him. "But don't all wolves have good hearing."

"Yeah, but not as good as you." He chuckled. "We really should try and get you to help with a hunt, finding something would be so much easier."

"If you say so." She replied. "So what are we going to do now?"

"Well…you're not going to do anything." He said. "I want to go and find the leader and talk to him."

"And I can't come with?"

"I'm not sure it's a good idea, I'll send that Lois girl to come and watch you."

"I'm not a kid, I can look after myself." She retaliated.

"I trust you, I don't trust them yet. This Lois girl though I think we came, she seems nice enough."

"Fine…You're too boring." She scoffed, standing up and walking back into the den.

"I won't be long, maybe over an hour tops."

"I get it, I'll stay right here." He saw through her guilt trick, the slightly pouting of her bottom lip, the moody attitude, the posture, it only made him want to laugh. Her ears perked to the sounds of moving, initially she thought he was walking back towards her, but soon she realised it was moving away from her. Her ears drooped and she lay down with a "huff". "It was worth a try."

Four dens down Callen came across which he assumed was Lois's den, it certainly smelt like hers from the brief moment he had to remember her scent, she was serious when she said there was an omega around for miles, it genuinely made him worry about Daria, what would her status be? She seemed to be fun loving, but so did he, that didn't make him an Omega. But her sense of smell and hearing were that beyond an Alpha, making her a pretty valuable asset for hunting, maybe it would be best not to bring her up around Lucas. "Hello?" Callen called into the den. "Anyone home?" Instead of Lois, a second wolf walked out, this one a darker fur complex to himself. But he recognised him; this was one of the wolves that bought them here to begin with! "Oh…sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you." If this wolf was close to the leader then he didn't want to upset him.

"It's ok, what can I help you with?"

"I might not be in the right place, but I'm looking for Lois?" He questioned.

"Nope, you are alright, I'm her brother. What do you want her for?"

"She said to come find her if we need anything? Well I need to speak to Lucas and I don't want my friend being alone."

"She's not a pup, right? She can take care of herself can't she?" He said with some amusement.

"I'm sure she can, but she's got a…condition, that kind of needs supervision. I'd be grateful." He thought for a moment, strange wolves around his sister. But then again she would only be thirty seconds away, less then that in fact! Not to mention the she-wolf was blind, what the worst that could happen."

"Ok, I know where she is. I'll go and find her and send her that way."

Callen smiled. "Thank you, I appreciate it. I need to speak to the leader; I won't be more then two hours."

"I'll let her know." And with that Callen left, travelling along the cliff, passing more dens towards the leader's den.

The cliff was massive, but by the time he reached the other side he could hear commotion coming from a den up a little hill. He took it solely, not wanting to be rude and caught listening into something he shouldn't be. However, he did still make his way there, maybe if he just approached innocently it wouldn't seem that way? There he was, Lucas, stood before a second wolf, this one old enough to be his own father. Lucas seemed unhappy; the second wolf seemed worried but unafraid. "…know what I had to do and you know the rules we live by." He heard Lucas say, such a deep voice, such authority. But hey, he was the Alpha Leader, it was normal. But still, he acted like a different wolf to how he saw him earlier. "If you've been having contact with her then I need to know, you know what must be done." He growled.

"I'm telling you the truth!" The second wolf replied hotly. "I don't know why you're being like this. They're both gone, my mate is gone and so is she. My two children are all I have left and have been talking to!"

Callen's approach was seen, but by a third wolf sat to his left, a Beta who stood guard of the leader. A simple low growl from him made him freeze and Lucas to overhear it. "We'll finish this later." He grumbled before permitting the second wolf to leave. He hurried out, passing Callen without even sharing a glance, down the hill and towards the dens. "Hello again, son." Lucas then said more cheerfully, smile on his face as he approached. "If this is a bad time I can come back later." He suggested.

"Oh, that? A little misunderstanding, nothing to worry about. Come, let's walk."

Meanwhile, and a little while later, Daria was doing just that, being lead out of the den and to the left towards the forest by Lois. She stamped her paws a little bit just so Daria could hear where she was going; it was her suggestion after remembering Callen's initial reaction from leaning up against him. It worked, and off they went. Lois suggested a walk, neither of the two wanted to hang around in a den all the time Callen would be gone. "You know, your voice ring a bell, have we met?" Lois asked curiously.

"I doubt it, I've never really been away from home before, so I don't know many people."

"Really, are you sure?"

"Yeah, pretty sure." Daria replied, a slight tone of awkwardness. Lois slowed down a little more to come to her side as to speak to her better. "So you and that wolf, are you two…" Daria didn't get it.

"Are we…what?"

"You know, are you together?" Lois asked then a little more slyly.

"What? No, we're just…well, it's complicated. We've only known each other for a few days?"

"Really, how come?"

"I need to go somewhere and he knows the way, our paths just crossed and we made a deal."

" _Like destiny."_

"I don't think I could trust someone like that, how do you know he's taking you the right way?"

"He hasn't done anything to assume otherwise, and we get along ok. I'm pretty sure I can trust him."

"If you think so." She replied, seemingly unconvinced. This was so strange, this conversation in general, never mind the subject. Why did it feel so though? What was it that made a simple conversation so weird, that gave her this alien feeling?

"Hey, is there a stream up ahead or something?"

"Umm…yeah, there is. Wow, you've got some good hearing." Said an impressed Lois.

" _Callen's not the only one who thinks so."_

"Thanks, can we stop off, I'm kind of thirsty?"

Eighty four paces later, they came across a stream where Daria was able to drink. Since witnessing Daria's hearing skills Lois began to question her on her other gifts, her sense of smell too seemed to be just as impressive. But obviously this lead onto the question about her sight and how she came to lose it. That last part Daria was unable to answer; she explained how she's seen nothing, but what everyone describes as a "cloud" as her vision, for as long as she can remember. But this wasn't something Lois wanted to know, this wolf may not have her sight, but with a set of hearing and smell like she has, it would've made her a valuable asset for hunting or tracking. This part however lead onto what Callen explained earlier, these "Alphas" and "Omegas" and how there didn't seem to be any of the second kind around here.

It was here Lois then told her how the pack worked, it was one of few Alpha only packs, and it has been this way for a long time. Lucas and his family have run it since the beginning, wanting only strong wolves, because only the strong survive. Life was not about living in the moment, it was about playing a role in the pack and helping each other live to see the next day. An exaggeration of course, nothing bad has ever happened here, nothing has ever compromised it before. For a pack such as this that lived beside a place called "Rabbit Poo Mountain", it was as ridiculous as the name suggested. She then went on to tell her how weak wolves were dealt with, how if they refused to leave…well, it wasn't a good outcome. And it was here she started to fall silent about it, and didn't want to go on.

Across the other side of the cliff, Lucas led Callen through the forest, escorted by two of his betas, as body bodyguards basically. Lucas shared information about how the pack worked, how everyone had a role and from what he gathered they ran a tight ship here. He seemed to lighten up more after the encounter earlier, but he still seemed very insistent to know more about him, where he'd come from, but as of a few moments ago, how he came to know Daria. "I met her only a few days ago." He explained. "She needed a guide and I accepted."

"Just like that?"

"Well…she did say she'd tell me where to find her pack afterwards. Seemed fair at the time."

"And her "condition, was it there when you met?" He asked curiously.

"Yeah, as far as I know she's had it since she was born."

"Ok, let me stop you there, how could she possible know where her old pack is? Did you stop to think of that?"

"She…I could." There was no comeback to that; he rummaged his mind for one, a reason to still believe her. But quickly he started to look back to the older brown leader wolf, a grin growing on his face. "She wouldn't lie to me." Callen shook his head.

"Face it boy, she lied to you. She's done what all weak wolves do to survive and deceive to make it through the day."

"So what? She's not weak; she's just got a problem."

"And problems cause chaos. And a pack can't survive if there's no order." Lucas said and bringing them both to a stop and coming around in front of Callen. "I like you Callen, I really do, you've got so much potential, a lone wolf never survives on their own, and you have since a young age, with friends or not. You've got guts, courage, but do you have the courage to stand up for a pack and its rules."

"What are you saying?" He asked bewildered.

"I'm saying I want you to stay, but your friend has no place here." Callen was surprised to say the least.

"I can't just leave her, she's my friend, she wouldn't survive on her own out there."

"I know, and that's why she doesn't belong in this world. We can…give her a kindness." Now his eyes widened, how can he think like this? Deep down this wolf had a darker personality it seems.

"Are you out of your mind?" Callen seethed.

"She is of no use to us, to you or anyone else. As you said, she won't survive, and like I said, it's a kindness. It's the best thing for her, sooner rather then later. Do you understand."

"I…I do, but it's just…"

"Her mother defied me once, she paid the price." Callen's head started to drop, but he still listened. But while he wasn't Lucas took the time to gesture to one of his Beta's to move, and with a nod of understanding he turned and silently jogged away to fulfil his Leader's order. "She refused to tell me where she hid her and paid with her life, and now I'm giving you a chance not to follow in her paw-steps. Either you're with us, or you're with her."

Callen finally looked up; meeting with Luca's brown gaze, his ear twitched to a sound behind the leader, as after a quick glimpse he made a tactical side step to his right. "I understand, and I accept."

Back over with Daria and Lois, they hung around beside the stream, continuing to talk about anything that came to mind. They quickly warmed up to one another, understanding many things; they had a lot in common personality wise. They shared a joke or two…or seven, they gossiped. Daria hadn't understood someone like this on a personal level ever, but why was it? But even as the subjects moved from one to the other, Daria had one in mind and her curiosity got the better of her. "Earlier on, you never did say what happens to the weak wolves of the pack." She sensed Lois's mood change, the atmosphere around them feeling different. Did she not want to talk about it perhaps?

"They're cast out from the moment they display it, they're the rules." She heard Lois say with a sigh. "Whether they are two years old or as pups. I've seen many wolves and pups cast away, never to come back, it's been that way for a very long time now."

"That's awful, surely they can't do that." Daria replied disgusted.

"We've lived by that for generations and will do for many more; it's only problem wolves that get banished these days."

"By problem, you mean like me?" Daria question. Lois didn't really answer; she didn't want to seem impolite. "I heard you this morning with Callen, that we shouldn't stay too long or draw attention to ourselves."

"My sister…she, she was like you." Lois then spoke up. "From the little I remember of her, she was blind too, always had been. Mom and dad tried not to let the others see, they knew what would happen."

"What did happen?"

"They found out, she was a weak link in the pack. But my mom took her away, ran-away with her, and seeing as she defied the leader Lucas and the Betas ran after her."

"What happened then?"

"It's…sorry; I don't really want to talk about it. Just brings back bad memories."

"No, I get it. I shouldn't have asked."

"You were only curious, it's fine." Lois laughed lightly. "Tell you what though, you're certainly not weak, Lucas would only see it that way." The two locked gazes, strangely, Daria starting back into her eyes as well, like she knew exactly where they were. A thought, a simple…ridiculous thought came to mind. It was so long ago, and as far as she was concerned they were both gone.

What that feeling? It was back, something she felt she should remember, or at least recognise. She was drawn towards Lois, her voice, her smell, and not in some weird attraction way, but like she should have met her before, or she already had. There was something familiar about her scent, her voice, but she couldn't place her paw on it.

"Hey, how…how old are you?" She couldn't believe the thought was running through her head, it was absurd, she'd given up on these hopes a long time ago. But Lois couldn't help herself, she had to ask.

"I'm one and a half." Daria answered. She heard Lois gasp silently, was something wrong? So she asked that. "I thought you were dead." She replied, only adding confusion to the situation. "I was told you were gone, like mom."

"What are you talking about?" Daria asked, still trying to grasp the situation.

"It can't be coincidence; I'm one and a half, the same age as my sister. She was blind from birth and from what I remember she had fur just like you." What was she trying to say? That they were sisters? There was no way, there was no chance.

" _I remember…"_

"Remember what?" Daria asked aloud, not giving a care in the world.

" _My mate, my children…a son and two daughters."_ Obviously Lois was a little taken back by her random question, but that didn't compare to the ones she needed to ask. Subconsciously, Daria's paw began to lift, inching closer towards Lois's face who watched it. She wanted to see her, just like she saw Callen's face this morning. Her cheek was damp, but her fur was soft, proving she was as young as she said and sounded. But suddenly…

"Lois." A deep voice growled. Both females looked towards the large black furred Beta wolf stomping towards the. "Step away from her." Daria dropped her paw, both females standing up with Lois taking a more defensive stance before her.

"She's not of this pack, she hasn't done anything wrong."

"It's Lucas's wish, now do as I say."

"You'll have to go through me." Lois said threateningly, but even she knew she wouldn't stand a chance in a fight with this Beta.

"Lois what's he talking about?" Daria asked fearfully.

"I'm not going to lose you again." She said sternly back to her.

"Come on now, you remember what happened to you mother. Do you want to end up the same way?"

"If it's the right thing to do." She muttered, she was terrified; there was no lying about it.

"Oh..." Cackled the Beta. "So unwise."

"Incoming!" Suddenly, a second wolf crashed into the side of the large Beta, sending him sprawling into the ground, along it and into a tree. He was left in a daze, lying there and trying to collect his senses again.

"Callen? Is that you?"

"Daria, we've got to get out of here now, Lucas is coming for you." He said and quickly coming to her side.

"Why? What have I done?"

"You came back, that's what." Lois answered. "Daria go, you can't stay here or you'll die."

"Come with us." She insisted as Callen brushed against her. "You said you don't like it here, so come."

"I can't leave our brother, besides; this pack is all I have. Even if everyone's an asshole." She laughed lightly.

"You'll have me." Daria insisted. There was no budging Lois, she wasn't leaving. The Beta groaned, seemingly becoming more alert.

"Daria we need to go, now!" Callen said, pressing more against her side to encourage her to turn and start walking. Reluctantly she did, following Callen's side as they started a steady paced jog away.

"I'll come back; I'm going to come back!" Daria shouted towards her.

 **Hi guys, long time no see. Another chapter done, this one took FAR too long to do, I apologise. A few little twists in here, some that relate to the film. Anyway, leave a review and we shall see when the next comes out. Until next time! :)**

 **The FalconWolf**


	10. Chapter 10 Digging A Hole

Vision for Sight

Chapter: 10 Digging a Hole

Both Callen and Daria now ran blindly as fast as she could keep up. Callen lead the way with Daria following the sound of his heavy steps and scent. _"Watch out, tree!"_ She leapt to the right, avoiding the incoming obstacle. "Callen slow down, you're getting too far!" He shouted towards him. He slid to a stop, looking back to her and beyond to make sure they weren't being followed. They had been going at this rate for the last half an hour, they couldn't stop now, who knew how far behind their pursuers would be.

"We can't stop; we need to get out of the territory."

"Why? You haven't explained yet, what happened back there?"

"Lucas started asking a whole lot of questions, bad ones. "He said and continuing on the move with Daria now just a tail length behind him.

"About what?"

"About you!"

Speaking of the leader wolf, he groggily lifted his eye lids to the sounds of muffled speaking. Before him the blurred shape of his Beta's head started to form, his lips showing he was the source of the shouting voice. What happened? Why was he visually impaired? Why did he feel like he's been kicked in the head by a god damn moose? "Sir?" He voice started to become a little clear. "Lucas…Sir, are you alright?"

"Urgh…I'm fine, I'm ok…What happened?" He said while lifting his head.

"Humans sir, in the territory." He responded. "They made you fall asleep."

"For how long?"

"Nearly an hour." Lifting his head some more, he took in his surroundings and smells, and one thing was missing.

"Where's the boy?" He eyes snapped wide open when realising Callen was gone, one minute he was standing before him and talking, next this!

"He's gone sir, he ran the moment you fell."

"Find him, I don't care what you have to do, just find him and kill them both, the she-wolf has cost me too much to live another day."

"I told you to let me shoot it!" Thomas exclaimed.

"There wasn't time, and I thought I could hit him." The tracker they had been following since the lake was designed to be as comfortable and comfortable as possible, so it wouldn't get in the way and the creature wearing wouldn't notice. They were a new type to tracker that has been proving successful in be less convenient and making life easier for the wearer. With some great convincing and a great amount of effort, they completed their original task and managed to get their skipper to guide them through the forestation. They had tracking equipment with them, hoping that they would get the opportunity to use it. What were the chances of this?! "Were you even sure that it was the right wolf?" Alice added as the team of five continued around the territory of this pack they wondered into.

"I'm sure of it, the tracker was going crazy, it had to be the one that ran off because it looks the same." Thomas replied and scanning the area with the tracking radar. "It's this way." He pointed. "The signals getting fainter, so they must be moving quickly."

"How do you two even know they're still travelling together?" Asked the skipper plodding along behind them.

"Wolves are pack animals; they will always stay together if given the opportunity." Alice answered.

"That doesn't explain it." He replied dumbfounded.

"It's her hunch, but it does make sense if you think about it." Sighed Thomas.

Daria needed to rest, she couldn't exactly say "in times like this she really wishes she could improve her stamina more", but she's never been in a situation like this before! But anyway way, he heart has never beaten faster, sweat has never dripped down her forehead like this before, this was horrid! "I think…we're good here." Callen panted the words she's been waiting to hear. She too came to a steady stop beside him, lowering her head from exhaustion of running at that speed for so long. "Get your breath back and we'll move on."

"Why…did Lucas want me?" She asked between breaths.

"You tell me, he clearly knows a lot about you."

"I've never met him; I've never left the forest before you found me." She retaliated.

"Then how did you get to the forest? He said something about your mom going against him."

"I don't know!" She then shouted. It was right then they began to hear distant barks and howls, alerting them both.

"They're coming, we can't stay here." Callen ushered and grinding his side against Daria's to try and encourage her to follow.

"I can't keep going like this, they'll catch us." She said defeated.

"You can't give up, they'll kill you!" He seethed.

"Lois is back there, Callen she's my sister, she even said that we have a brother. I can't just leave them; they can take care of me."

"You don't understand!" Movement caught his eye, looking behind Daria he could see a number of wolves moving in closer. They had to move, NOW!

He looked around him in panic, he had an idea. He moved towards a hedge, prying it apart. "Come here." He told her quickly. Intrigued by his idea, she did as he said, only to be suddenly forced into the bush. "Stay here and don't say a word, I'm going to lead them away and come back for you."

"But what if they catch you." She said fearfully.

"With some luck, they won't."

"THERE HE IS!"

"Stay here!" He whirled around, his paws struggling to find grip at first as they threw up nothing but dirt first before that's all he left in his wake. She wanted to run out with him, she didn't feel safe here, but she moved back inside when the thundering paw steps of many wolves draw closer. She heard then run straight past her, coming within reaching distance from her. She remained still, even holding her breath; she didn't know how exposed she was here.

Callen sprinted with as much power as he could muster, constantly looking over his shoulder to see if they were gaining on him, he seemed to be doing ok, he remained well aware they had the advantage here, they knew the lay of the land, so he was running blindly. He didn't have a clue what he was going to do, or how he was going to loose them, the only idea he had so far was just to zigzag about, try and break their line of sight on him and even spread his scent around so he couldn't be tracked. That was his only chance at getting out of this. Afterwards however, that was another question, how would he get back to Daria?

"Mom, what do I do?" Daria whispered and hunkering down into the hedge a little further.

" _Do as he says and stay here. Callen knows what he's doing."_

"Hardly, what if he doesn't come back?"

" _Trust him, he will."_ Clearly she wasn't in a good situation here, and to make matters worse when she inhaled deeply through her nose, she began to realise her scent was building up here. Any wolf that took their time passing would instantly detect she was nearby. She couldn't stay here for long, she needed to move somewhere. _"Don't you think about it."_

"You need to help me find somewhere else; somewhere I can get rid of my scent." She said and now deciding to step out of the hedge.

" _How?"_

"If you can make lightening then I'm sure you can find me a river or something." She dipped her head, focusing through her hearing and stretching it out to the best of her ability. She turned her head, away from the direction she could still hear the wolves shouting and barking in. Meanwhile doing that, inhaling through her noise, smelling for a river or a body of water to try and wash away her sweaty scent.

" _There."_ She heard it, running water a little over two hundred paces away.

"Mom you need to take me…"

"Who are you talking to little girl?" She gasped at the deep voice, spinning around in the direction to her left. "Where's your boy-friend now?" It cackled and this time a little bit louder, meaning he was closing in. She new the voice, it was the same wolf that interrupted her and Lois earlier.

"Please…we're leaving, we di-didn't want any trouble."

"Well you've got trouble now, and this time your stupid mother isn't around to save you now." Hang on, what did he just say?

"What…My moth…how do you know my mom?"

" _Running, chasing…I remember, he was there, he was with them!"_

"You can ask her yourself." He was now right in front of her; she could feel his breath on her face. He unleashed a terrifying growl, emanating deep inside his belly.

" _Jump!"_ She leapt to her right, just barely avoiding his swing for her throat. Obviously the wolf with a little bewildered, how did she know he was about to strike her? Was he just getting too slow or cocky perhaps? Must be, just trying not to ruin the moment.

"Jumpy are we?" He still laughed as Daria started crawling away after stumbling from her jump. "Your mother put up just as much of a fight." He moved closer to her and she continued to move away, eventually getting to her paws and running away. "Oh yes, I remember this part very well!" He shouted before taking off after her.

A chase, something this wolf loved to do with prey just to really get the fear level up and going. There was no chance she was going to get away, how could she? The amount of things he watched her run into or trip over, he found it all amusing as he kept up with her at an easy trotting pace. He mocked and teased her as he run along behind her, continuing to terrify her further for an entire fifteen minutes until things changed.

Daria slipped as she came across a steep slope, enough to make her fall completely and roll violently down the hill, crashing with hedges and leaves. This was torture, at this point she just wanted to die and get it over with, she wished just stayed at home, with Floyd, there was no point in this anymore! The outside world was dangerous; she was never going to forget this. It seemed like an eternity she rolled down this hill when with one final one metre drop, she landed and stop, the wind knocked out of her and her body aching all over. She couldn't go on any more; she didn't want to do this, she didn't want this anymore.

Callen continued his plan of trying to confuse his followers, there had to be at least four of them, and it seemed it was working. By running in erratic patterns, making his every move unpredictable, they lost sight of him, so when they tried to track his paw prints, they overlapped so many time, by scent, it was all over the place, there was no distinct path to where he had gone. All he needed to do no was try and get back to Daria and go around this area. All of a suddenly he was blindsided, sending him sliding along the ground with a wolf's wait on him. He began to fight back, but the wolf stood on his forepaws and brought his head down to his face. "Stay down." He hissed. Callen opened his eyes, he knew the wolf, it was Lois's brother, the one he spoke to today!

"Nathan! Where are you?" A distant voice shouted.

"I'm over here!" He shouted back, lifting his head up as well and peering over the fallen tree Callen lay beside.

"Found anything?" This "Nathan" looked down to him, remaining where he was over Callen and keeping him in place. What was he going to do? He was thinking of something, but what?

"Nothing, his scent goes back the other way!" He shouted and looking back over the tree. "Cut him off by the cliffs, we can corner him there!" After a moment, he stepped to the side, letting Callen stand. What was this, what was this wolf thinking? "Go that way." He pointed towards the north. "There's a river that way, cross it and you're out of the territory."

"Why are you helping me?" Callen asked before he ran away. "What about Lucas?"

"Lois told me everything, and Lucas has hurt my family enough." He smiled. "You need to keep her safe." He then leapt over the tree and started running. "Get her out of here!"

"But I…don't even know where she is…" He sighed, hanging his head.

Daria started to crawl when she managed to recover some strength. She was right about the river, there was one to her right, and to her left was a vertical bank which stopped her from running back the way she came, like she'd want to head back towards that wolf! Without warning, she was grabbed by the scruff of her neck and put against the river bank with a great deal of force, but before she could get up though to run, she was forced down by his paw and body weight.

He moved in with his jaws and at the wrong moment came into contact with Daria's set of left claws when she lashed out. Ok, now he was angry, he placed his second paw on her throat, beginning to choke her. She tried to push the heavy Alpha away, to fight back, but with him cutting off her air she couldn't really do much. "Any last words, little girl?" She sneered and easing up from her throat a little bit, just enough for her to scream at the top of her lungs…

"MOM!" Suddenly, a loud creak and groan came from in front of him, and wrapping around the wolf's body a tree root hooked around him after exploding out from the ground. In disbelief, the wolf was entangled by four of these roots that seemed to have a life of their own. One around his chest, another his torso, one around his left back leg and the fourth around his neck and head. They came at him so fast, first knocking him back off Daria before abruptly, and violently, he was yanked across into the bank at a fast speed. It was unreal, it wasn't normal. He was slammed into the river's bank, the roots settled, freezing again as if nothing every happened; now he was the one who was restrained and now being constricted.

He cried out and squirmed against them as he struggled to break free from the tree roots, but even through his great strength he was unable to break free or squirm out. "What the hell!" He exclaimed. "What did you do, you witch?!"

Daria coughed as she was finally able to reclaim her breath, crawling away from the wolf and a little bit towards the river, just to create some distance from the wolf she could hear grunting. She didn't know what happened, where he was or what was stopping him from ripping her to shreds, but that she didn't care about, whatever it was though was buying her some time.

Callen found his path going downhill, up until it opened up and the river flowed past him. He was guilt ridden; Daria was back in the direction those wolves were running in, if anything Nathan had just made it a whole lot harder for him. Or so he thought… "Daria?!" There she was, crawling along the floor up ahead. How did she get out here, why didn't she listen to him?

"C-Callen?" She sobbed "Is…Is that y-you?" He caught up to her, sliding to a stop at the moment she whirled around and wrapped her fore paws around his shoulders.

"Shh…it's ok, it's alright. What are you doing out…what the heck?" It was right then he saw the wolf behind her after he started grunting again and struggling to break free. How on earth did he get in such a situation?

"Get me out of here or I swear I will be the last thing you ever see!" He demanded. Did he fall down the bank and into it? No, the roots were perfectly moulded to his body, going out and around. Did he walk through? He can't have, if so then he could walk back out. Not to mention it was a pretty stupid move anyway. Daria continued to cry into his neck, holding onto him tightly and seemingly never wanting to let go. Did she do this to him? It was a ridiculous thought, but he couldn't help but think back to their first encounter, the incident with the lightening, this was the second unexplained occurrence. Well…third if you count the time he found her talking to herself, but what wolf hasn't had a moment when they talk to themselves, so he doesn't really count that one.

Daria still clung to him with a tightening grip, weeping loudly into his neck with no sign of it ending soon. The sounds of distant howling and barking soon made him realise that they couldn't stay, maybe they were beginning to realise one of their own was missing and were tracking him now. Callen averted his eyes off the wolf, holding her shoulder to move her away. "Daria, we can't stay here, we've got to keep going. They're going to be here soon."

"There's no point in running." The wolf growled. "Lucas will never give up."

"Then neither will us." Callen replied confidently. "Come on, we've got to move." He moved Daria around to his side, and with her still sniffing and sobbing he lead her away along the river bank to find somewhere shallower to cross.

 **Same as usual, sorry for the late chapter. I've been given a load more hours at work, which is great for my life, just not my hobbies and interests. Haha**

 **Anyway, leaeve a review seeing as I don't get many of them these days and let me know what you think, this is only just getting interesting. ;)**

 **The FalconWol**


	11. Chapter 11 Something Strange

Vision for Sight

Chapter 11: Something Strange

"You let them escape, you had her, she was under your paw and you let her go!" Lucas had to be caught again from falling, this ferocity, the anger dwelling inside him, what the humans did to him, his body couldn't take it. Before him was the very Alpha that had chased the she-wolf he never thought he'd see again or get the opportunity to be rid of. To his left and right were his Beta's, all around them all were a group of Alpha's, ordered to hear what he had to say.

His head hurt, his legs tingled, what did the humans do to him? He should never have let them in, he should have just rid of them the moment they were found. But now they were gone, Callen and that…BITCH! He shook off the Beta that caught him, he didn't want to look weak, he needed to show his authority and he couldn't do that being supported. Shaking his head, he stomped towards the Alpha looking down at his feet, he dare not meet the leader's gaze. "What is your excuse?" The Beta's remained still, but were ready to jump in if necessary.

"She's a witch." He said still looking down. He could hear the leader grumble from the pit of his stomach.

"Grow up boy, I said explain yourself!" He snarled and circling him.

"I swear sir." He said, peeking through the tops of his eyes. "She's not a wolf, she did something, something that made the river bank come to life."

"It's impossible; did you head your head, boy?" Said Lucas.

"No Lucas, I didn't."

"Sir?" A second Alpha stepped forward, making Lucas's head whip around. "The way I found him, the roots that trapped him, they weren't in such a way he could've just fallen into or walked into. They were holding onto him like they were alive. As hard as it is to believe, I…I believe him. Whatever happened, it wasn't natural."

"Let me redeem myself." The cowering Alpha spoke up and finally lifting his head. Lucas came around the front of him. "Let me take a group to find her, we can bring her back here to show you."

"No, you will not." He said sternly. "You won't even give her the chance to run this time." The wolf looked confused. "You will find her, and when you do you WILL kill her and her friend. Don't give them a chance, don't taunt them and don't bring them back. You end them or I'll end you."

With night falling and Daria's tear started to dry up, Callen saw the opportunity to go and hunt before it was too dark to see. They were safe for now; they had to be a good twenty miles out of the territory. They crossed streams and avoided damp areas that would hold their tracks and scents. They had taken refuge under the shelter of a fallen tree, it was a fresh one to have come down, the trees on it were still green, It offered great shelter from wind, rain and vision should anyone come by. Another good reason Callen took the chance the find something to eat, she would be fine as long as she didn't move.

Since it happened, she'd have moments where she remembered the wolf pushing down on her throat and the torments he gave her. She could've died, she almost did. "It wasn't something you get over quickly" Callen told her, did he know then what it felt like? Was she over exaggerating it? Either way, one minute she was ok, the next she found she was balling into her paws again after reliving the moment. Every branch she head fall, every movement around her made her twitch, who knew how far behind their pursuers were, if they were watching them now. How could forget it? Every time she thought about something else her mind would swiftly drift back to it, her memories were to become nightmares.

"It was horrible." Daria wept silently. "Why would someone do that?"

" _It was all my fault, I remember now. It has nothing to do with you sweetheart."_

"How did they know me?" Daria sniffed, resting her chin on her forepaws. "He said he knew you, you even said they did."

" _It's complicated, simply put, I defied Lucas."_

"It's because I'm blind isn't it?" She concluded, raising her head. "They're a strong pack, Callen told me they cast out weak wolves. I was a weak wolf wasn't I?" The wind started to pick up and little bit, the branches around her started to creak and crackle, growing in volume. There was a warm presence around her, embracing her as if it was there for comfort. She felt calmer, something was affecting her emotions, Daria slept sleepy even.

"Mom?" Callen heard her call out. Curious, he pushed on with the berry branch firm in his mouth. He continued to think tactically about this, if they are still being followed then hunting leaves a mess and therefore a bigger trail to follow. He came across this bush of blueberries not too far away from their shelter. It wasn't much, but it'll do until they hit the plains a few miles further. Swerving through the trees, trying to stop the branch from catching on anything, he heard Daria call out a number of times. When he finally saw their little shelter, he didn't understand why it seemed to be different. He could hardly seem Daria through the branches, each one seemed to have either grown or grew knew ones…or both. Either way, what once was only a small piece of shelter was now looking almost windproof. The branches created a net, a wall of natural foliage.

It wasn't possible; did she move to another part of the tree which he didn't see? It didn't seem it; he could see the base of it, leading up to the branches which Daria was hid under. It was the same place, the same tree. Maybe he just wasn't paying attention, that was the only plausible explanation. What couldn't' be explained was her talking, to her mother? "Callen?" She then called out. "Is that you?" Sceptical, he dragged the branch closer and into the shelter. Yeah…it was defiantly different. This wasn't how he left it thirty minutes ago. The branches made a netting, like a cobweb of tight branches of both thick and thin. He could hardly see out of it they were that tight, it was handy even though mysterious.

"What happened here?" He muttered awestruck. "This wasn't how I left it."

"What do you mean?" Daria asked curiously, honestly, she didn't know what he was talking about.

"Did you make this? The tree, it's gotten thicker, can't you feel how little the wind gets in?"

"What? No, I didn't. Why are you talking like this?" He looked at her for the first time since entering, her ears were, flat, her head low and tail hanging down and slightly under. She was nervous, scared of his time. He wasn't being fair on her, how can she interrogate her on something like this? He may still only know a little about the she-wolf and what she was capable of, but this was certainly too sophisticated for her. Not to mention it wasn't a case of finding sticks and weaving them together through the tree branches. These were the branches of the tree weaving around one another, forming smaller twigs and branches. There was no way she could've done this. His tone of voice was just due to the crazy day, the exhaustion, he wouldn't forget this however, this was just another mystery to add to the list, with Daria starring in the middle of it.

He apologised for his tone and explained why, obviously she could only give her normal response she say she had nothing to do with it. Within minutes, they were tucking into the berries Callen found, only a branch full. It wasn't something he particularly enjoyed, but it was better then nothing. Daria however was pretty happy, berries such as these were her favourite, it felt like she was home again, almost anyway.

"How can you eat these?" He shuddered as he swallowed some more. "They're so sour."

"I guess it's an acquired taste." She laughed lightly. "Hey, I'm older then you right?"

"By a few months I think form what you said, why?"

"Oh, nothing. Maybe after this is done I can show you the better patches at home."

"Hmm…maybe, we'll see." He chuckled. He looked into her clouded eyes, Daria herself completely oblivious that he was, while doing so he started to ponder over everything that's happened today, what Lucas said, what he's seen and heard. He had to ask, he couldn't wait any longer. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

She sensed in his voice he was eager for an answer, yet nervous, was it something he wasn't sure about?

"Ok, what is it?" She responded, poking the tip of her claw into a berry.

"I don't know if it's something you want to talk about." He started as she brought the berry to her muzzle. "But I need to know, why were you calling for your mom?" She was startled to say the least, but she stayed strong as she chewed, trying not to give anything away. "I heard you shouting it on the way here back tonight, a few days ago as well. Then there was what happened with the wolf today and…the lightening as well." Her ear twitch to the lightening, the first time they met, not on the greatest of terms either.

He saw the nervous twitch, something that showed she knew exactly what he was talking about. She swallowed and wiped off her muzzle, leaving a blue splodge to the left of her chin. She took a breath and lifted her head. _"It's only fair that he knows."_

"Do you really want to know?" She questioned, something that went unanswered. It was pretty clear though by that he did expect it. "I was talking to her." She sighed, and here are the confessions of a mad wolf.

"Talking to…your mom?" He wanted to make sure he understood every bit of this so she didn't have to repeat herself. "Is that a joke?"

"I hear her." She shook her head. "She looks after me; she's been there ever since I can remember."

"Is she there now? I mean, can you hear her?"

Daria nodded. "She told me that she defied Lucas not long after I was born, I was apart of that pack, they saw me…"

"As a weak wolf?" Callen finished.

"She ran away with me, but they found her. I don't know what happened to her." There was a moment of silence before all she heard next from him was a long sigh and some shuffling. "Callen?" He didn't answer, all she could hear was the wind outside their shelter and his breathing. Was he sleeping? If not then he was certainly ignoring her. What was she supposed to expect? It was ridiculous! Floyd never believed her the time she told him a long time ago, and they've never spoken about it since. He's probably forgotten it by now, he most defiantly took it as an imaginary friend.

" _He doesn't believe me."_ She thought to herself while lowering her head.

" _Give him time; this is just something he doesn't understand yet."_

Camping wasn't really Thomas or Alice's thing, it was a good thing the skipper and some of his crew however took it in their stride. It was something they excelled at, making this "adventure" of theirs a little more bearable. They continued to follow the tracker, diverting around the wolves territory to carry on their task. They knew they will have caused a stir now back their, so they needed to leave as quickly as they could after making sure they wolf they accidentally darted was ok. Wolves naturally won't bother people, they won't come near them. If human however come into their territory, or if anything does, they aren't scared of anything. They will give chase. It wasn't a good idea to stop until they were at least a few miles out of it. They cleared the territory over night, only receiving about four hours sleep before daylight came around. The signal was weaker then yesterday, meaning the two wolves they worked after were on the move once again and gaining distance on them already.

"It's remarkable really; the two clearly have a bond, mates perhaps?" Alice said

"A wondering pair not uncommon." Skipper responded.

"I'll tell you what's not common, the fact that they're staying together although one of them can't possibly survive on its own. Most packs wouldn't do that, if they can't help then they don't belong." Thomas added. "This will make a great story." He waved the tracking radar around to get a clear tone to follow. "They're still heading east, it's like they're trying to get somewhere."

"Stop!" Skipper suddenly shouted, bringing their five man team to a halt. He marched up front to Thomas's right were he came to a tree, nailed to the tree however was a sign which after he brushed away the growing moss and dirt revealed some worrying. "WARNING HUNTING SEASON IN PROGRESS"

"Is this a hunting ground?" Alice asked worryingly.

Skipper only nodded. "They've walked straight into it."

"So what do we do?" She continued and becoming distressed. This was their one shot at getting the publicity that they needed, and now they've just walked into a death trap!

"I had a feeling they'd come across this place if they continued coming this way. The skipper slipped off his bag and started rummaging through, giving him a moment Thomas double checked the signal was defiantly coming this way. Within second, the man pulled out multiple high visibility jackets, handing one to each of the team. "This will help us stand out, the last thing we want to be seen as something to shoot at."

"Wait, we're not going around?" Thomas didn't understand, this was dangerous; there were people with guns in there!

"We'll be fine, just don't do anything stupid and make plenty of noise."

Daria and Callen polished off the rest of the berries before leaving, doing all of it in, pretty much, complete silence. A few words here and there, but it was obvious to her that Callen still didn't believe her. He was upset clearly, so much so that he didn't walk beside her like normal, he walked up ahead, letting her follow the sounds of his footsteps, not seeming to care if she walked into something. It might be a bit of an exaggeration; of course they had to speak every so often. But whenever he did it was more of a mumble and he never looked her in the eye, that much she could sense anyway. "You're getting too far away." She said to him. She heard him sigh, he didn't stop, but she heard his paw-steps grow a little in volume, meaning he was closer. He walked around a tree, not a big enough movement though for Daria to notice the notice however, so her shoulder caught the side of it. That was the fourth time now, and he said nothing back to her to even see if she was alright, now she was just getting annoyed. There was only so much of this she could take. "Ok, what's your problem?" She growled and making a stand. He stopped, whether he was looking at her she didn't know. "Why are you anger with me?"

"I'm not angry, I just can't believe after what we've been through so far you can't be honest with me." He said, not sounding too mad, certainly not as angry as she did. By the tone in his voice he was indeed facing her and had come closer.

"I am being honest; I've never lied to you." She continued to speak hotly.

"Really? So you're not even lying now?" He scoffed.

"No, if you're talking about last night. I wasn't lying, I'm not crazy!"

"Well you sure sound like a crazy person." We're the only two here, your mom is not around."

" _So he thinks."_

"Look, I'm sorry if that's what you think. But I'm telling you the truth!" Daria persisted. "Can we please just move on and forget this then?"

"I don't know." He sighed. "It's hard to stay with someone who can't be honest."

"I'm sorry. Please, I don't want anything to come between us."

"Me neither." He stepped forward to come a little closer to her when suddenly something clamped around his leg, making him collapse with a horrible scream of agony. There was no point in holding back tears or trying not to scream, this hurt whatever it was! Daria freaked out, screaming a little herself. Her instinct made her fall to the ground not long after he did.

"What happened?" She asked panicky, her heart racing and about to launch out of her chest. "Callen are you ok?"

He continued to whine, his eyes sealed shut from the excruciating pain that seared through his front leg. He had to force them open though, he had to see what was happening to him. He brushed off the leaves that had landed on his leg; clearly they were what were covering this device. Blood, metal, dirt and fur, all mangled around this trap and snared his leg. He'd heard about these, put down by hunters to trap creatures like himself and Daria. Stand on one and the chances of you getting out of it again were very slim, they had little teeth in them that sun into whatever it clung to so it was even harder to escape one. He could see how it worked though, it was like a set of jaws, and all he had to do was pry it open again. "It's a hunter's t-trap." He cried, seething just when he tensed the muscle in his leg. "It's…ahh, it's got my leg."

"Does it hurt?"

"Like a bitch!" He groaned when he tried to pull his leg out, it just finished with him crying again. "I can't get out. What a great way to change the subject."

"You're trapped and you're making jokes?" Daria gasped, how could he think of humour when she could smell blood?! "How do we get you out?" She asked and standing up to move closer. He looked back at it again, careful not to move his leg and add more pain and blood to the mess.

"We…need to o-open it again. It's really ti…tight."

"Let me help then." She suggested. Immediately, he knew this was going to hurt. She wasn't exactly the most co-ordinated wolf he's met, all for good reason. But he couldn't do this with one paw. He nodded, and he started to brace himself for what was to come.

"Come closer."

Daria moved in, reaching out and placing her paw on his shoulder to them follow it down to the trap. Firstly she worried she might get caught in this, but when she felt how firm is clung to Callen's leg she instantly knew she was in no harm right now. She spread her toes around its teeth, wedging her paws between the bars. Callen felt it begin to move, a little trickle of blood seeping out and off his paw. This could be worse; lucky for him it had caught him just about his ankle. Of course this was bad, but if it had caught him right on the ankle the chances are it would never heal. After she got a firm grip on it, she pulled, trying to open the jaws of the device. Callen cried out as it moved and his leg bent the wrong way a little more, his sudden outburst instantly made her stop and his wounds engorge with more blood. He cried and she comforted him, wrapping her neck around his as an embrace. She wasn't strong enough, neither of them were.

"I could try and find help?"

"Don't be stupid, that's not going to work." He scoffed again. "You'd be in just as much trouble as I would."

"Well I'm not going to leave you here; we've got to stay together."

"I don't plan on going anywhere." He laughed through the tears.

" _What's that?"_

"What's what?" Daria asked, Callen's ear twitching to her sudden question. She felt a tingle in her paw, a strange feeling surging through her.

Callen watched in bewilderment as she lifted her paw, her face turning blank and she moved in towards the trap.

She laid her paw on it as the tingle moved it in its own direction; it was like she had no control over it. It slid along the metal frame, around and down towards the floor. She breathed when it stopped and the tingling left, she had control back. Her paw was on something flat attached to the device protruding to the side of it. _"That."_ She pushed down and Callen winced, it moved, it opened a little bit before tightening again. She stood up, placing her other paw on it, this time pushing down with her whole weight. She fell with it, the trap springing open and releasing Callen's leg along with a loud cry of pain from his mouth and more blood from his leg. He was free!

"Are you ok?" She asked worryingly and stepping off it, making the trap slam shut again, thankfully after Callen made sure his leg was well out of the way.

"How did…you know that would work?" He groaned. She thought for a second, this was a chance to make things right.

"Lucky guess." She came to his side. "Can you walk?"

"With help." He nodded. He pulled himself up, this time, using her as support and guidance. Limping, they moved on to look for shelter. All they were certain of was that it was going to be a long day.

 **It's been too long since I saw a review come up for one of my stories, I wonder how many of you are still here? It would be interesting to know who, out of all my original reviews, are left. So those that have been there since the VERY beginning. If you're one of those guys them leave a review or pop me a message, one or the other.**

 **So Callen's injured, Daria's former pack are in hot pursuit and the humans, who are only trying to help, are closing in. Things aren't looking great for our duo. Anyone want to take a guess as to what's coming up? Because I don't have a clue! XD** **Until Next Time**

 **The FalconWolf**


	12. Chapter 12 Channelling the Heat

Vision for Sight

Chapter 12: Channelling the Heat

A human's trap lubricated in blood, it was strange though, and it looked to have been reset, readying to snap at its next victim. The scent it left behind though belonged to the wolf they peruse or one of them at least. This was good, a blood trail to follow as well as a scent, not to mention a wound seemingly as catastrophic as the amount of blood indicated would be slowing them down, making them all the more vulnerable. The only down side however to this task they also were treading in unknown territory. They maybe four strong Alphas, but should they come across another pack then they wouldn't know the escape routes. They were confident in their task however, they had to be, they couldn't return without proof the she-wolf was dead.

"This is perfect." Said the leader and bringing his head away.

"Even with humans being in the area?" A second full grey Alpha added and coming to his side. "Surely this makes the risks all the greater.

"You forget Saleen how they are just as lost as we could get; only now they're hurt, scared and vulnerable. We have the advantage."

"Lucas is so focused on her, do you know why?" She asked and he nodded.

"I'll tell it to you another time. It's getting dark and they'll be looking for shelter. We keep moving and find them before the neighbouring packs finds us."

"Yes Neil, I'll get the guys up."

Callen's entire leg was covered in blood, his fur matted and glued together. His wound was dirty and swollen; each stepped engorged his ankle in more blood and fluids. Daria didn't need vision to know that he wasn't in good shape; she could smell the start of infection, his tone of voice was more fearful of it then he let it out to be. He had to guide her though; she just provided the support for him. The pain was excruciating, he expected to get used to it at least a little bit by now, but if anything it got worse, even more so when he fell, which was many times. Almost every other step he took he fell, and almost every time it was on that one leg when it gave way, or when Daria didn't provide enough support. He needed multiple breaks, more then he wanted but she insisted. Closer inspection of his wound showed it wasn't as close to his ankle as they first thought, so the joint wasn't damaged, but the amount of blood coming out meant that the teeth on the trap had sliced something vital. The wound wouldn't kill him; the loose of blood however would though if they couldn't stop it.

They only covered half the distance Callen hoped for today, if that maybe. But distance wasn't a thought, only the worry that if they were still being followed that Callen's blood only provided a better scent for the to follow, that is if they found it after the river they had to cross to begin with. They couldn't think of that now, they needed shelter before it got too dark to see. It didn't look too hopefully until they came across a small looking waterfall, to the right of it was a cave and from what Daria could tell from smell and sound was abandoned, It went down into the ground rather then into the rise of the waterfall like you'd think it would, this resulted in Callen practically falling down the entire six foot drop down into the cave. It wasn't one big drop though, just slipping down the rock like steps down. He was exhausted, he couldn't go on anymore, so Daria literally dragged him the finally few feet so he could rest his head on a rock. It was ideal to; there was a little trickle of water that create a puddle beside his head he could lap up. Or so he found when his muzzle dipped into it.

"Ok, are you comfortable? Do you need anything?"

"I'm ok…Thank you." He sighed, resting his head again after drinking that water. "It feels nice to…lie down." He said closing his eyes.

" _I can totally agree with that."_

"Can you help him?"

" _What can I do?"_

"Anything, please…I don't know what to do."

"Just stay with me." Callen then said, luckily it didn't seem he noticed her little conversation. That or he just ignored the rest of it. "I'm too tired to do anything now."

"Since when were you the one to get tired all the time? I thought that was my job?" Callen always tired to lighten the mood in moments like this; maybe she should give it a try and see what happens.

"Only when I'm like this." He chuckled lightly. Was that a good response though?

" _Meh, better then nothing."_

"Go to sleep, I'm going to stay awake a little while longer."

"The water should…hide our scent for a while. We-we'll be ok here." And with that he took one big breath and relaxed his eyes, drifting into a sleep a few moments later. And as she said she would, Daria sat towards the entrance of the cave, reaching out her hearing to its farthest capabilities. Running water, scurrying critters, a gentle breeze and the falling debris from trees seemed to be the normal. The smells of herself and Callen, the river, a high pollen count and a nearby berry bush seemed to be all she could smell from the incoming winds. They had been walking in the same direction the wind has been blowing; it didn't carry with it any smell of pursuing wolves, so she could rest a little more easily.

Daria peered back into the den, hearing Callen's teeth chattering and body shaking against the ground. Sure there was a little wind coming into the den, but that wasn't the course, this infection was settling in abnormally quickly. He wasn't going to be moving fast tomorrow, that's if he could even get up. Or was it shock? She knew about it, when your body starts to lose a great deal of blood it goes into this state. But what could she do to stop it? To cover it up? She didn't know what to look for or where to find it, she could only hope he was a little more active too tell her what to find and how to apply it.

" _What's running through your mind, baby?"_

"I'm tried of feeling helpless." She sighed. "I can't do anything to help him; I've to return the favour for everything I've done for him."

" _There is nothing you can do, only wait for him to regain his strength."_

"He could get worse by then, something needs to happen now." Daria turned and walked into the den, sensing when she was a few feet away from where he was lying. "He's not going to be able to get up to find anything, to be honest I don't even know if he can get out of here." She added and thinking back to when they first clambered down here. "He can't walk without me and I can't see without him, we're screwed."

" _Then what is there left to do?"_

"You need to help him." Her voice echoed around the den, it was stern, certain, more of an order then a request.

" _Daria, that's something I can't…"_

"You're the only wolf here that can do something."

" _You don't to understand, I can't interfere with anything…"_

"Stop it? You can make a dead tree grow, you can make lightening, you can let me do things but you can't help him?" Again, the ferocity in her voice echoed around the cave, being the only voice to reply to her for a short time. Her ears twitched in wait of some response, but first she heard paw-steps, light ones walking from behind her, then around and then in front of her where Callen lie. There was silence afterwards, a presence of focus and deep thought present, if that makes any sense at all.

" _Come closer."_ She took a breath, lifted her head high and stepped towards Callen's shivering body. He was completely out of it; she was sure he would have said something or intervened by now. _"Put you paws on the wound."_ She took one paw first, using the second to steady herself while she felt for it. When she made contact with him he flinched, seething in his sleep and tensing his entire body. She pressed on by placing her second paw over the leg, feeling fresh blood seep onto the pads of her paws as she caressed his leg.

Within moments, a third paw joined hers, a fourth resting on her shoulder gently. She took another deep breath, wondering what was happening. _"Just let your mind go blank, you don't have to do anything else."_ At that moment her own paws started to tingle from underneath, the other paw on her shoulder started to burn something, nothing too unbearable, she could stand it. A rush of something unfamiliar moved through her body, starting from her shoulder, down her body and through her paws into Callen's leg. She couldn't describe it, how can you describe something that feels there but shouldn't be other then how her whole life has planned out…Strange. Something she could feel and describe with ease was Callen's constant shivering becoming gentle and not as violent. His ragged and erratic breathing easing up, the feeling of his heart beating through his leg seemed to slow too; the only weird part to it all was how hot the wound started to feel.

This ensued for many minutes, it must have been half an hour when the heat coursing through Daria's body started to cool down and the weight was taken off her shoulder and paws. Her eyes fluttered, her attention turning back to Callen to find he slept far calmer, the odd chatter of teeth maybe or a flinch, but nothing as severe as before. Was this good? She couldn't tell. _"Rest now; we shall see what tomorrow brings."_

 ** _Here's a sweet little chapter done for you all guys. It would have been longer, but i wanted to get something out before New Years. I hope you all enjoy it, I also hope you all had an awesome Christmas and one better...Have an incredible NEW YEAR! See you all next year everyone! :D_**

 ** _The FalconWolf_**


	13. Chapter 13 Not So Useless

Vision for Sight

Chapter 13: Not So Useless

" _Callen…Can you hear me? It's time to wake up."_

Daylight was the first thing that came to his much clearer senses. Was yesterday a dream? He took a deep breath and stretched out while still on his side, making Daria move who, now he came to see, was lying in front of him as if for warmth. Or was it worry? Either way, she seemed to be pretty peaceful there where she was, completely out like a firefly under his paw. The breeze blew inside the cave, water still trickled beside his head, giving him an opportunity to drink for a minute. Some crazy dream he had, he was running, but beside other wolves in pursuit of another. A female, he didn't know why but he just did, and when he caught her she only said…he couldn't remember now. Like most dreams, the more he thought of it the more he forgot. But hey, it was just a dream, not the weirdest he's had after all.

Then came the thought of his leg suddenly, did he even dare to look and see how it looked or felt when he moved it? He did move it though, not feeling a thing. He brought his leg up to see, lifting his head as not to disturb Daria who seemed unfazed as she rested her head on his lower ribs. Firstly, he saw the dried blood at covered half his leg and paw where it had dripped, secondly, the redness and swollen are surrounding the wound which he saw last. He pushed away the fur to take a closer look, waiting for that sting he knew was to come. But it never…He touched it again, not one little flinch. Was the pain really that bad it's gone numb now? Did Daria find something last night to help it? Or was he still dreaming?

Ok…the last one defiantly wasn't true. But then again since when did Daria ever sleep like this with him? Anyway, he needed to check this out. He sat up, maybe a little too quickly and abruptly, causing Daria to slip off his side and onto the floor and resulting in her waking. He apologised briefly before taking a better look at his leg.

"Callen? Are you ok?" She asked, wiping the sleep away from her eyes.

"Yeah." He gasped, his mouth remaining open afterwards. "I'm ok."

Daria sat up, in doing so her body leaned against his after being so close. He looked across to her looking into her eyes as she stared blankly ahead, this wasn't weird now, strangely. There was a new feeling a he looked at her, he didn't get it. A result of what happened to his leg? It didn't matter, and soon he focused but onto it. He pressed it again, this time with some more pressure with the side of his claw, obviously this resulted in a little bit of blood seeping out of the deep cut. It bled, but there was no pain. "I can't feel a thing." He said.

He then proceeded to try and put some weight on it, firstly allowing Daria who insisted she helped him by leaning up against her, slowly and gradually putting more and more weight onto that front paw until he was attuned to the miniscule pain he felt through it and could walk on his own. The wound was still there though, pretty much just as bad as it was last night. "I just don't get it." He said while walking around while trying to see how far he could push it. "It's hardly painful but it's still there. Did you do something last night?"

" _Lie."_

"I cleaned it out a little bit, you were far too sleepy to feel anything." She answered sheepishly. "Other than that, I didn't really know what to do."

"It's bizarre, It's like nothing ever…" Callen stamped his paw down, really pushing his weight down, obviously resulting in his leg giving way to him and a yelp of pain escape his lips. Daria, having a good idea of where he was in the cave, came rushing to his side in an instant, nuzzling his head and neck in comfort.

"Slow down, you can't rush into things."

"Well who knows…maybe this witch can help out with this too." He chuckled lightly under his breath and laying down a little more comfortably. She was taken back, a little baffled maybe as well.

"You still want to do this?" She questioned. "We almost drown, we've got wolves potentially coming after us and you' e potentially completely ruined your leg. We ought to turn around, we shouldn't do this."

"Me, Susie and Nick spent a few nights here believe it or not, that's why I knew where it was. The swamp is closer then your home is, we could be there by this time tomorrow." There was a point there, this witch was closer, and therefore could help them. That was even if she would help them or eve existed. So far all they had to go on was Callen's alleged encounter with something in the swamps and Susie's story of her deaf grandmother seeking her out and returning with some pretty darn good hearing. There was something going on in that forest something that couldn't be explained through rational thinking, and whatever It was might be able to help them.

"Ok." She sighed. "As long as you can walk alright."

"I don't know what we'll do for food though, I do think I can run after something for long."

Daria only grinned. "I can help with that."

Meanwhile, the trek through this dense part of the forest proved tricky, worrying even when Skip discovered bear tracks along this river they tread beside. The tracker they followed came this way before abruptly turning to liked upstream of the river, the signal beeping quicker which meant their wolves had slower drastically since yesterday. The morale of the team was beginning to run low, most, other than Tom and Alice, were starting to feel this was turning into a wild goose chase. Sure, they understood what a story like this could do for their animal surgery, a story of dedication is what it is, travelling for days to restores a wolf's sight. No-one however saw it ensuing from this long however, not even the two vets. "Hold up." Skipper gestured to halt, tapping Tom's shoulder who stood in front of him so he would as well.

He pointed down to the floor, indicating to a set of tracks. "That's good." Thomas said. "We're sure they came this way."

Skipper however knelt down to one knee, this movement allowing Alice to look over his shoulder to watch what he examined. He gently ran his hand across the deep set of prints he could see, doing this you can tell how old they are via the depth of them and how rough they feel. A day old maybe, eight hours at best. There was something else about them though, the steps were uneven across the few metres they were the clearest, and thy were enlarged, dragged if that makes any more sense. Comparing the two different sets of prints beside one another showed a massive difference between them, one set were light, another was deep, more weight being placed on them, as if this wolf was supplying balance for the other, lighter steps.

Following a few paces, a bush partly obscured a few of them, the leaves of this hedge stained. The skipper moved over, running his hands over the leaves to find the sticky red liquid almost dried but not enough to stop it staining his fingers. "One of them is hurt." He concluded. "Blood, the tracks show limping…whether it was a bear, each other or something else I don't know."

"It's ok, we can still find them a treat them for it." Alice said confidently said. "I have an emergency stitch kit…"

"Well we'll need to be quick, this is a lot of blood, who knows how much it's lost."

"They were here this morning." Saleen confirmed as she emerged from the cave beside this waterfall. The gap was closing between them and their prey, this group of top, highly trained Alpha's never lost a target, nor gave up. Not to mention their leader in this task, Neil, had a personnel matter to attend to with this she-wolf, she almost lost him his position next to the pack leader, he needed these wolves eradicated. They didn't rest, none of them could when they saw how close they were getting. Blood was still fresh and wet, there was still a damp puddle of it in the cave, this was fantastic. "They must have left here within the last three hours."

"I got tracks!" Samuel shouted from across the river, the dark brown wolf who used the stones across the river near the waterfall to cross it. "They're still moving east."

"Where are they trying to get to?" Neil mumbled to himself while in deep thought. There must be somewhere they're going, they've been going more or less straight for days, nothing else made more sense. The black furred wolf didn't have time to think though.

"The more we sit around scratching our heads the further away they get." Saleen said. "We can catch them before night fall."

Around an hour later, Daria and Callen were laid side by side within a patch of long grass, thick so they couldn't see out of it, this was tactical though. _"Not yet."_ Food was on the agenda, neither of them had eaten in almost twelve hours, it was about time thy found something to eat. The only problem is Callen's leg couldn't handle the pressure of running after something for so long, he was fine to walk and run for but a minute perhaps, but anything longer or strenuous just wasn't an option. So how might they hope in catching something? That's were Daria came in play…

" _Almost."_ He couldn't hear like she could, smell or feel to the degree that she had proven countless times to him. It was another bizarre thing about this girl he guided across the country, but she was full of surprises, and now she was proving useful. Tapping and scratching, something was moving, the sound grew, so it was getting closer. The wind blew a smell of it, something Callen did pick up, but that wasn't the part he needed her for. It was a doe, a young one at that, maybe it strayed away from a nearby hear? That it was a little like him at his younger age, just not one of living with others. Maybe it would've learned if it had a little more time.

The point of Daria doing this was for the purpose of the perfect ambush, all that was needed as impeccable timing. She began to feel the ground beneath her paws vibrating, feeling it on the fine fur strands between her paws, he prey was close. "Get ready." She whispered, prompting Callen to be aware and be on his paws. It was flawless, they remained downwind of it so it couldn't smell them coming, they couldn't see it so therefore it couldn't see them, theoretically anyway, and it followed the same path right towards them.

Daria raised her paw, readying to signal her partner beside her, Callen licked his lips, the hunger making him eager to strike. _"Wait, wait…NOW!"_ Daria tapped Callen's mid-section of his back, and with that she felt a breeze pass her that was him launching himself into the air. She heard a squeal, a squelch and a thud, it vibrated across the floor to her sensitive pads. There was rustling, Callen grunting along with his vicious growls. Her heart raced inside her chest, this was exhilarating. How can the death of something innocent be so thrilling, this was something Callen would have to answer for her, or better yet, teach her?

Within minutes, they were engorging on the carcass of the doe, a new taste to Daria to add to the list of new things she's tried. Succulent, both chewy and crunchy, juicy, the way some parts just fell apart in her mouth on contact. It was exquisite, she clearly had missed out on a lot. "You know…" Callen said with a mouth full. "We'd totally make the greatest hunting team, when this is done I'm teach you how it's done."

"Really?" Daria almost chocked, it came a quite a shock. "You really would?"

"Yeah, I mean, you could track them down way faster than any other wolf around and leave it to me to take them down. Formidable we could be!"

"Bit over the top." She giggled though none the less, reaching in and ripping out another bite.

"Of course not, I'm defiantly not kidding." He laughed lightly as well. She brought her head back up, making him chuckle a little more to himself. "We ought to find a stream or something to clean up in."

"I said I cleaned your leg last night, does it need it again?"

"It's not for me." He chuckled again. "And I thought I was a messy eater." She wasn't impressed. "Come on, finish up and let's move. We can still reach the swamps by tomorrow morning." She nodded in understanding, diving theirs heads in again to feast on the riches of their catch.

 **Word of warning guys, there aren't many chapter left to this story, perhaps around five maximum. We shall just have to wait and see. As always leave a review if you an, I always love reading about what you say. The never ending twists to this tory can only go on for so much longer until it all springs! Until next time.** :)

 _The FalconWolf_


	14. Chapter 14: Falling into Place

Vision for Sight

Chapter 14: Falling into Place

This was the fastest the tracking radar had gone in days, the wolves these humans sought to help where within four hundred metres of them. Morale was starting to rise, most of it however was due to Alice's positivity in the matter and enthusiasm not to give up though, not to mention her bounciness no was becoming somewhat amusing, even to Thomas. The blood they found must have come from another animal, if it belonged to one of the wolves they were following then they would have found it by now down and out due to blood lose. It was a relief to hear this from the skipper, it was his theory. There was however no way of knowing for sure that the blood did actually belong to one of them, it might well do, and something was spurring them on and evade them and always remain ahead. If that was the case, what was it?

Anyway, the radar being as frantic as it was, was relieving, finally they were gaining some ground on them. They made sure their camera equipment was functioning, they didn't want to come all this way with no documentation! Skipper had his rifle primed, loaded with a fast acting tranquilliser round slipped inside. He had to admit, he was looking forward to this. Although he couldn't help but worry about how long this was taking. He was doing this out of the good of his heart, he could have been paid a hell of a lot more for this. He had other jobs to do, three of which, that he would have been paid for, he had to cancel! As long as he got a mention in this, then hopefully he could get his business booming higher than ever and his crew could get paid a bonus.

They heard a howl of a wolf, and it was close VERY close. Grins appeared on all their faces, all but Thomas's anyway. Wolves howled when near the territory of another pack, as another way to mark boundaries, more hen anything else really. That…or it was as a warning. Their wolves many very well have just been found intruding…

Breakfast was cut short, and no once again Daria and Callen were running for their lives. She still had the blood from the catch all over her face, never having a time to even finish her, or his, fill before they were running. It all started when Daria heard talking, Callen went to investigate and returned minutes later fearing for both of them. They were indeed being chased, and after seeing who the wolves were, for the last few days! Four highly trained Alphas had been hunting them down, Lucas was serious then about what he said, and Daria feared just as much from what the wolf told her that day.

He led the way, bringing pain to his leg just so Daria could clearly hear his paw steps so she could follow. He didn't know what to do, he knew they'd catch them at some point if they just carried on running, and this time it wasn't just because of Daria, his leg was preventing him. It was hurting, he couldn't keep this up. Maybe by breaking their line of sight, it might confuse them a bit and give them some time to slip away? It wasn't a permanent solution, if these wolves have been capable of tracking them from scent and prints for the past couple of days then they wouldn't be quick to pick up any from around here. Anything to buy more time and add to their confusion was all he could come up with.

So to do this he led Daria in unplanned patterns, nothing the pursuers could predict and get ahead of. Unexpected is how the needed to think and remain. "What are we going to do?" Daria shouted in a panic.

"I don't know, I'm thinking alright!" He responded back fearfully. They couldn't hide, they would find them, and they couldn't run, they would catch up to them, to say their options were pretty limited would be an understatement.

"Do not lose them!" One of the perusing wolves bellowed fiercely, he really wasn't that far behind.

This was hopeless, Daria could see no way out. They were after her, not Callen, maybe if she stopped then they'd let him go? _"You need to keep moving."_

"Mom, we need your help!" She shouted.

" _Don't give up, you need to trust me sweetheart."_

"Stop." Callen said, rather too quickly but was fast enough himself to catch her as she ran into him. "We'll do the same as before, you're going to hide and I'll lead them away."

"You can't possibly outrun them!" She exclaimed. "They're too close."

"We don't have a choice."

" _KEEP MOVING!"_

"Callen we've got to go, trust me."

"We can't Daria!" He snapped. "We can't possibly outrun them. If we can just…"

"No, you need to stop and listen to me now." She grabbed his shoulders, making him look right at her. "You need to trust ME now, please Callen."

" _There's a river up ahead, you take him there, you'll be safe."_

She had placed her trust in him for this long, maybe it was only fair he returned it. But it was hard, placing his life in the paws of someone who can't possibly know what lies ahead. He looked back, the wolves closed in, honestly had no idea what he was planning on doing anyway, it was complete coincidence that the last time they split up they ran into one another again. His plan wasn't going to work and they WOULD catch him and eventually find her. But that still didn't give him hope in trusting her. The way he saw this, there was no way out, he could only let her have hope. He nodded. "Ok, let's go."

Relieved, Daria moved to his side in order to follow him. "This way, there's a river up ahead." He grinned a little bit, how could she possibly know? But then again maybe she could hear one further then his own hearing capabilities could reach? Either way, he had to let her believe there was hope in escaping this, but also wanted to believe there was still a chance himself. Who knows, maybe there was a way out. He pushed on, it was faster when he led the way and instructed her around the obstacles they came across.

Neil chuckled as they sprinted on, his eyes never leaving the target, Daria. They were locked on, letting his body bring itself closer to the kill. "There's no point in running, we will catch you!" He shouted. This tease inspired the rest of the wolves in his company to begin shouting their own torments, enjoying the thrill of this very different sort of hunt.

"Daria they're getting real close." Callen told her while glancing back.

" _It's not much further."_

"Just keep moving!" She shouted back.

She clearly didn't understand what he meant by "real" close, this was literally a few dozen yards away, and still closing. Daria could hear their panting, the thundering paws of the five wolves baring down on her and Callen, she couldn't keep this up, the lack of breath was starting to get to her.

Looking back again, when he should have been looking ahead, Callen tripped over a log, causing a yelp of both surprise and pain to escape his lips when he fell. Daria pretty much tripped over him, making him cry out a second time when she landed on that one bad leg. Gritting his teeth, he lifted his head, Daria still lying over him and breathing heavily, he could see the whites of the wolves' eyes and the sounds of their growls. A tear fell from his left eyes as he looked down to Daria. "I'm so sorry, Daria. It's over." She pushed herself up, spinning around towards the wolves.

"Not yet…" She said determined. "MOM!"

The atmosphere changed in a matter of seconds, Callen virtually feeling nauseas at the stomach twisting sensation. A gloom set over them, caused however by the dark clouds that manifested overhead and out of no-where, growling silently as if a pack of a hundred wolves grumbled in sync. He watched Daria, the wolves never ceasing their sprint and not noticing the forming clouds above them when something unimaginable happened, but also something so familiar.

Lightening streaked out from the clouds, screaming as it came crashing out from the skies and crashed into the ground in between Daria and their chasers. The power of it struck them back sweeping them off their paws, including Daria who instead of being thrown back, was toppled over. Callen sat himself up a little more and opened his paws to catch her.

Neil, Saleen, Karl and Steve had never tasted the dirt in such a way and from such an unnatural occurrence, it knocked the wind out of them severally and left them extremely disorientated. They didn't know where their heads were at, mostly likely still the ten feet in front of them where they were to begin with.

Callen's jaw was hung agape, even more so when an extremely thick tree not too far away creaked and groaned before it collapsed, shaking the ground surely for miles around. It was so loud, but it was perfect…It blocked the way for the chasing wolves, an obstacle they'd need to climb over after reviving yourself. But before all that though…what the hell happened?!

"Come on, move it!" Daria clambered off him, dragging him up and nudging him on to lead the way. Never mind the other wolves, his own train of thought hadn't caught up to him yet. He wasn't sure what to think about what he just saw, where he was going, who was chasing them, he was just left gobsmacked.

"Come on…g-get up!" Neil ordered, his own legs shaking from the lightening. He shook his head, kicking Steve beside him to encourage the black and brown wolf to get up.

"What the heck…was that?" Karl gasped, crawling forward towards the collapsed tree to help him up. "The girl is a witch!" He proclaimed.

"It was a freak strike, nothing more." Saleen added, rolling onto her front and craning her neck to the right to ease the ache there. "The mission hasn't changed, come on, they're getting away."

"No, stop!" Karl snarled, shaking away his disorientation and clearing his senses. "This is serious; how did she do that? Ad how did she do that to you back home at the riverbank?"

"It wasn't her." Neil growled back. "Know your place, Lucas tasked me to end her life or else we can never go home, we are all in this now, we've all done something to unset Lucas so I suggest if you want to see your mate again I suggest you shut up and jump over that tree!"

"Come on, it's just up ahead, I can see it!" Callen ushered, leading Daria closing alongside him. Every other step, or something like that, he'd glace over his shoulder to see where the wolves were, or if there was any more lightening behind them. He wanted to see it again, he had been hoping it would happen again, after all lightning strikes twice, and that was all he was clinging to before he jumped to a supernatural conclusion. His mind was everywhere, escaping, confused, his leg, Daria, the river…where did he start? The river had to be a good starting point.

They came to a grinding halt, finding the river was more than just a river, more something similar to a raging rapid! Ok, maybe not to that degree, but it was a fast moving river, and it was deep, even the strongest wolf wouldn't have a chance swimming through it. So therefore swimming across wasn't an option, especially seeing as Daria couldn't swim. "Well?" She questioned. What were they waiting for?

Callen shook his head. "We can't cross, it's too fast and deep."

" _There's a tree upriver, hurry!"_

"What's upriver?" She asked, turning her head to the side in order to hear out the wolves gaining on them again.

"I don't know; it goes around a corner."

" _It's your only hope, I can help you."_

"There's a tree, it can help us get across." She started walking in the direction, feeling the splashes of the water droplets on her pelt she could tell which way the river flowed, just walk in the opposite direction.

"How could you possibly know that?" He responded, this time a little more demandingly.

"I tried to tell you once and you didn't believe me." She answered, turning back to him. There was a pause between them, Callen first thought was about if she was really trying to say it was her dead mother telling her all this? Because, admittedly, everything unexplained so far that has happened around them, and more specifically her, is starting to point in that direction. Sure he believed in such thing but only when there was no other answer, and until lately he thought he had those answers about this she-wolf, but maybe the question needed rethinking. This tree she say's is up ahead could provide another piece to this puzzle.

The sounds of the barking wolves made him come up with his reply. "Ok, let's go." He caught up to her, admiring her determination on the subject for a moment, before letting her know he was beside her and guiding her on. Running alongside the river, a tree did come to sight, acting as a bridge across it. It was ridiculous, she knew, she knew it was there. But how was not the question, he was starting to believe this story or hers now, just maybe it no longer was a story. If they can use it to cross maybe they can dislodge it from the other side? That way they couldn't be followed.

Callen nudged her towards it, keeping an eye on the enclosing wolves he could see now running alongside the stream too. "Come on, hurry up!" He seethed tensely. Daria brought her paws up, feeling just how wide it was. Not particularly, but enough to walk across. She anchored her claws in to provide stability, lower herself before springing up and onto the tree. Callen continued to hurry her along. And when she had covered enough he too leapt on, but once he did he turned around to start walking backwards, this way he could try and fend off the wolves should they too clamber on.

Slowly, they edged their way over, Daria feeling in front of her before taking steps to make sure she didn't slide over the side. The force the water droplets were hitting her at showed how fast this river was flowing, still water made her worry, this was just petrifying. "Daria hurry up!" This time he shouted, but suddenly she came to a stop, causing Callen to back up into her. "Hurry up doesn't mean stop!"

"I can't find the tree." She said fearfully. He craned his neck around, leaning riskily over just to see around her only to find the reason why she couldn't find it, was because there wasn't any more of it. It was snapped off; the tree didn't reach the full way across leaving about a metres gap between them and the riverbank. It seems the force of the river might have snapped it off during a point when the river might have been higher. Either way, it left them in deep trouble, they were now blocked off on both sides. Neil cackled to himself at seeing their trouble and how they didn't see it to begin with.

"Well, well, well. Caught in a spot of trouble are you?" He laughed. Callen's clear response to that was a deep growl and the bearing of his teeth. "There's no point in running now, you have no-here else to go.

"Daria why the hell did you bring us here?" He snapped back to her.

" _This is the right place; you're going to be ok."_

"Seriously? There's no-where to go, how do we get out of this?"

"You think?" Saleen snickered as she checked out the log thinking if it was safe to jump on with them. It didn't look very stable, it shook and moved each time the river hit it with some force, it seemed to be one good hit from the river to come clean off. This finding she whispered to Neil who again began to laugh before nodding to her. Saleen turned to Karl and Steve, bringing them over and explaining what their plan is.

"Now then, there are two ways we can do this." Neil said. "The first is far easier and much better for the two of you. Or…" Suddenly, the tree moved a great deal, causing Daria to slip and Callen having to catch her and bring her back up. Karl had barged the tree, loosening it further. "The second which involves both of you drowning in this river. And if that doesn't do the trick, the waterfall at the end of it will which."

It made some sense now, water flows quicker towards a waterfall. The ground wasn't particularly steep here so that wasn't the reason why, a waterfall had to be it. Karl reared up again to take another run at it, moving it a few inches this time. It was loose now, it just needed moving over the edge.

" _Everything will be ok; you need to trust me."_

"We'll be ok." Daria said. "We're going to be ok."

"I might be but you can't swim. And I won't be able to hold you up in that." He said worriedly back to her.

" _Tell him that no matter what happens…"_

"…We will get out of this, you just need to stay strong." Daria finished, feeling as though it wasn't even her that said it.

This time, both Karl and Steve took a place beside the tree, nudging it ever closer to the edge, wobbling Daria and Callen, making them both gasp and finch, gripping the tree tighter.

" _If the tree goes with you the odds are against you, you need to jump!"_

"Callen we have to jump." He looked to her in disbelief, was she really willing to throw herself into this knowing that the chance of survival was just as good as walking towards the wolves. But then again she did jump off the boat and away from those humans fully aware of the consequences.

The tree moved again, Saleen left the boys to it and stood alongside Neil and watched the two with a smirk. She wasn't happy about this, they were young, in her eyes they have done nothing wrong. But they wouldn't be able to return home until this was done, and they'd be ridding the world of another weak wolf, that was something she did believe in.

Callen nodded, he understood now, their chances were no better jumping than walking off with them. "Let's do it." Together, they turned to face downstream, Callen eying the water and trying to see through it to find how deep it really was. This was going to be tough, he doubted his own ability to swim through this, find somewhere to get out before hitting the waterfall and do it all without letting Daria drown.

" _I promise, everything will be ok, you will both be ok."_

"Kick and scratch right?" She asked, fear all spread across her face and in the form of a worried tear. He chuckled lightly, no point in hiding his own.

"Yeah, that's it, kick and scratch."

 **Love a good cliffhanger me! haha**

 **As always, leave a review, send a PM or whatever, ove seeing what you guys think. Things are starting to get interesting, and just so you all know, I have plannned out, start to finish, the remaining chapters. There shall be no more then five max.**

 **On another note, I have had a thought in my head that has been been in my head pretty much every day since, no exaggeraton. It is of course a story Idea, and those who loved the series before, it is to do with the A Son of Wolves story. Now, the reason why I'm very persistent to write this out is because it'll be nothing like the others. It will feature our main characters, only this story is more of a one shot, looking into what would've happened after the alternative ending where Leo did pass away. HOWEVER, It will be a darker and...well, different. There has been no planning or writing to this, it's been nothing more then an idea. So here's the deal...if more then five of my readers say they want to see it, in the form of a review or a PM, I will write it. Just take into account what I said about it, because I know for a fact that the series changed as it went along and I wouldn't want to finish it on this kind of note. I shall leave it for you to decide. If you want tmore information about it send me a PM. Until next time. :)**

 **The FalconWolf**


	15. Chapter 15 Seeing is Believing

Vision for Sight

Chapter 15: Seeing is Believing

"Hey, get away!" Skipper fired a shot from his pistol into the air, making the wolves approaching them think twice and run back into the trees. The radar tracked their two wolves to this area, and now looking at the screen it showed the tracker was moving very quickly away from them. Perhaps they managed to jump across this fierce river using the fallen tree that acted as a half built bridge, thus escaping the group of wolves. They understood now, that small group they had just encountered must belong to a larger pack around here, hence the howling which is usually only ever done when wolves intrude or to keep other wolves out. The direction the wolves were looking at before the group sprung out was down the river, worst case scenario was one of them had fallen in and the other had as well when trying to help them. They didn't ponder that theory much, only the positive, that they made it across and eluded them once more.

The group of four wolves disappeared into the thick of the forest, barking and gnarling as they did until they fell silent. "Damn it, we were so close!" Alice exclaimed, kicking the tree in frustration. The result of this was knocking it over the edge and into the river. She had to leap back just so it didn't catch herself in the process.

"Calm yourself." Thomas said and putting his hand on her shoulder. "They're still in the area, they won't be far."

Humans intruding on them like that was unexpected, they weren't to know they were being followed, even to make it out alive! One of them had a small bang stick, every wolf knows you're not likely to live when one's pointed at you. Neil did a head count when they started to slow, happy they had distance between them and the humans. "Finally." Steve panted. "We can go home." Karl nudged him, lifting his paw for a high five to show his happiness of the thought.

"Not yet." Neil added. "We need to make sure they're gone, if we're quick enough we might just catch them go over the falls."

"He's right." Saleen agreed. "Lucas might not believe us if we just say it, we need proof that it's done."

"Then let's move, we're almost done here." Neil smirked.

Callen ran, running as fast as his legs could carry him, his heart ready to beat out of his chest. Not from exertion however, for fear of Daria's life! He was alive, he was thankful for that and glad to know Daria was right in knowing that he was going to be ok, but what about her? He struggled to keep himself afloat, even after he started drifted ahead of her when the waters carried him. Luck seemed to be on his side however, just when he thought his lungs couldn't inhale more water tree roots growing from the side of the riverbank were in his grasp. He clung onto them for dear life, the water battering his body and ripping at his fur to try and drag him further down.

He heard her screams, and lunged his paw out to her as she passed, she was too panicked though and couldn't see where he was. His claws grazed her fur but never found any grip, and with that she passed him, flowing further down the river. He called out for her, but in her state and with her swimming ability she couldn't respond or slow down. She disappeared around the bend of the river, leaving him to drag himself out of the river.

The sound of the waterfall grew ever louder, her screams now distant, so much so he could no longer hear them. Suddenly there it was, a narrow but very high fall. He came grinding to a stop, almost falling off the drop to stare into the waters below. He couldn't see anything, there was nothing in the fast flowing water before it either. Did she get out? "DARIA!" Callen bellowed with the utmost of fear. His voice echoed and bounded around the area, no fear that the wolves, that could very well still be following him, might hear him. The river was much slower down there, there was what looked like a natural beach made from where the river bent around to the left and back into the trees. She wasn't there, she must have been able to get out before. If not, then she'd be floating down there somewhere after emerging from the screen of water vapour in the air. If she didn't already drown, the fall would have killed her.

"DARIA CAN YOU HEAR ME?!" He screamed one more time, again, the only thing he heard back was his own echo. She must have gotten out, he had to. He reared up and ran back, he needed to try and find her scent, if not that, then to get down there!

If only he had waited but a few seconds longer…

" _Scratch and kick, scratch and kick. You're almost there baby."_

Daria swam, she couldn't believe she was, let alone to have survived that fall. She dipped under the water continuously, feeling something push her up though every time she did, but she alone propelled herself forwards. When she could finally feel the dirt before her paws she wasn't yet to breath for relief, she feared drowning still in but a few feet of water. She scrambled out of the water over panicked, leaping onto dry land and collapsing from exhaustion and anxiety of the ordeal.

Her heart almost felt like it was going to explode, she seriously needed to run more, her cardio has let herself down too many times lately. With her legs splayed out either side of her and her tongue lolled out of the side of her mouth, she took the moment to recover. She didn't sense any immediate danger so she wasn't in any rush to get up and start running again. Fifteen seconds she had been lying here and it was the longest she had been still all day! But in that moment she began to wonder why it was so quiet, and why there wasn't a sound of another voice that should be around here. "Callen?" She didn't hear anything, only the waterfall behind her. "Callen? Are you there?" She asked this time a little louder and lifting her head. He wasn't here, so then where was he? "He managed to get out?"

" _I think he did, he tried to catch you but couldn't."_

"Well we've got to find him, what if he hurt his leg again?" She said determinedly and dragging herself up to her wobbly legs.

" _You don't look in any state to carry on, you need to rest now."_

"So does he, he won't be fairing much better." She began to walk ahead towards the trees, hoping she wouldn't walk into a tree too harshly.

" _Tell you what, let's get you to a den go something and I will go and find him."_

"Seriously?" He scoffed. "He can't hear you, how do you know he will hear you?" The thought was stupid, how was this going to work? She felt a warm weight against her side, much like Callen when he would walk alongside he, along with a whisper in her ear.

" _There are many things you don't know honey, and it's better it stays that way."_

"No frigging way…" Saleen gasped, watching as the she-wolf walk into the trees with her mouth left open agape.

"Are you serious?" Karl exclaimed. "How did she survive the drop?"

Neil growled to himself, straight from the pits of his stomach. This bitch had brought him so much pain, in more than one sense of the word. He didn't care that she survived the drop, he didn't care that she lived through the rapids and he certainly didn't care and she had evaded the pack once before all that time ago. All he cared about was that she didn't live to see the end of today!

"I say we just go down there, find some fur or something and then head home, she's done now without her friend." Karl added. Neil was most tempted to agree. But as he looked down into the trees she disappeared to, a second she-wolf sat in her place, staring up at him with a complete blank expression. His heart began to beat a little faster in his cold chest at the sight of her, she was messing with him, it wasn't real!

"Neil." Saleen snapped him out of the trance he was stuck in, breaking his eye contact with her. "We can do this, we're getting so close no, too close to give up."

He looked back down, the wolf was gone. She wasn't real, she was gone, and soon Daria would be joining her.

Light as it always did at some point turned into darkness when Callen finally managed to find his way down towards that dirt bank. The sun was heading passed the horizon, casting that orange colour across the sky and creating shadows from the towering trees. He had hoped she found a way to the bank, he'd find tracks at least. Non-stop running for hours just for aa scrap of hope. What would he do without her? Up until they met and from the moment Susie and Nick abandoned him, he had no purpose, even if that only for a day or two. He had meaning with her, and he'd grown towards her now, what was he to do if he lost her?

He came to a screeching stop, the sweat from his forehead and onto the ground, his eyes firstly scoured the riverbank for her, or her body. He saw nothing, he even checked the water, looking from the edge of the water at the waterfall to make sure she wasn't behind it, and thankfully she wasn't from what he could see. Then his attentions turned back to the area alongside the river's curve, she had to have gotten out. He waded out of the water, carefully checking every foot at a time for tracks. "Come on, come on…Where are you?" He muttered over and over to himself. Callen moved carefully, making sure he didn't flick the dust up in a way to cover any tracks he missed, it was indeed a thorough job.

Then his eyes focused on something he almost missed. He picked up a leaf, carefully, and revealed a print. He made an imprint into the dirt beside it to make sure it wasn't his, this one was smaller. He knelt to it, breathing in deeply and sighed in relief. "Thank you…" He whispered a small prayer. Daria was ok, she got out. It was a miracle, unbelievable, but many things about this girl was, so this was nothing new. The scent however, it was barely noticeable, he couldn't follow that and the prints faded as soon as she got into the forest.

He walked to the direction she started walking in, going into the forest for a few dozen paces before stopping. "Daria!" He shouted, but like the same as before, all he heard back was an echo. But it was always worth a second try.

" _She's not here Callen."_

He walked on a little further, calling out for her many times in hope for some answers. With the light fading, his chances were growing slimmer with every passing minute. He was exhausted, she must have passed out if she wasn't as it as himself, and he couldn't even believe he was still going. "Daria where are you?!" He bellowed as loud as he could. He was scared now, his eyes watering from the constant worry, but not just that, one thing in particular scared him more than anything… "Please don't leave me alone." That he muttered, almost as if he had given up hope.

" _Oh dear me…"_

 _He couldn't be alone again, it's the reason he wanted to be in a pack. The day his parents split he lived with his grandmother more due to the arguments, it wasn't good for him. Then she died, he had left her. Then the times he moved from his mother and father, being passed around like meat at dinner, sure they didn't argue and they saw each other as friends, but he wasn't at home. Was this how he was supposed to be? Alone for the rest of his life? Was he ever meant to have a pack?_

" _Ok, I know you can't hear me right now, but if you just pull yourself together a little bit we could be making some progress."_

"Daria I'm so…sorry. I-I tried…"

" _Oh for goodness sake."_

Suddenly, there was a loud whistle, very loud. He shot his head up, immediately thinking it was the group of wolves that had found him. It was one to attract, one of those kind. But there was nothing there, not beside him and not behind him. His head had a moment, he can't describe it, it was like an attraction of his very own. He looked over to this left and a good thirty steps away stood a she-wolf. She just stood, grinning at him and locking in with his gaze. Something about her that gaze though was so familiar, what was it? She didn't say anything, and neither did he, and it remained that was for an awkwardly long time. She was brown furred, a lighter shade of it going from her chest and down. See, enough awkwardness to get details about her.

Finally, though, she moved, turning to her left and towards a tree. She walked behind it to walk passed it, however Callen did not expect the fact she didn't appear on the other side of it. Unless she was hiding behind the tree, she had disappeared. He was scared, scared but curious. She clearly didn't mean any harm, or didn't show any sign that she wanted to, so he flowed after.

He found the tree, she wasn't here and there being no way she walked through it. Again he felt that urge to look now to his right. There she stood again, exactly the same and did the same as well. She turned and walked, this time behind a fallen tree which, in time, when he caught up to it to catch her, she was gone. He looked all around himself, she wasn't there, he felt no urge, now need to look somewhere now. "Who are you?" He said loudly in hopes she'd come out of her hiding place to talk.

Then he heard a crunch of a twig snapping under some weight, this time behind him. This she-wolf was playing games; this was a very clever mind game she was playing with him he would admit. He stared deep into those green eyes of her, so familiar, but where had he seen them? "What do you want?" He heard a whisper, behind him again. There was nothing there, but when he looked back at her neither was she, she was gone. Now he was scared, was game was she playing? Was she trying to tell him something? He looked in the area she was standing, all without moving himself from where he stood, he dared not.

Things fell eerily silent around him, it gave him a chance to try and hear her out, find out where she was moving to next. There not a sound, not a step, not a bird, not even a breeze! Suddenly… "This way." The voice hissed into his ear, he felt the breath on her neck, and he felt something graze his back as if it was almost leaning on him. A shadow passed him and he cried out from the freight, whirling around to see that nothing was behind him or anywhere near him. In fact, it was standing in a clearing, the closest object to him was a good ten paces away! Yet the voice was there, and so clear, it wasn't right, nothing was!

He heard a *wisp* of something, a dash, something like a short burst of a breeze. There she was again, sat far from him and grinning back at him, waiting for something. His eyes widened, he took an attentive step towards her. "You know where Daria is?" She didn't speak, but stood up and took a few steps away from him and looked back as if waiting. "You want me to follow you?" Again, she only stopped and smiled. "Ok, ok I'll follow." He started walking towards her, and got no more than five steps before she started walking, not once looking back at him.

It had to have been an hour of following, most of the way taking a rough guess after she somehow "vanished" from sight, only to reappear again somewhere else. How could he have been so foolish? He should have listened; he should have trusted Daria. She was right all along, so closed minded he was. These things were possible, it was the only reason he was still going through with guiding Daria. But he had to have exhausted all of his options before he concluded what was now clearly the downright obvious!

Anyway, he followed this she-wolf through the depths of the dark forest, starting to move uphill. Soon he came to a cliff, a narrow path going alongside it before turning around it. He looked down, it wasn't a death defy drop shall we say. One slip and this journey was all for nothing. Anyway, she walked around the edge, never slowing and going around and out of sight. He quickened his pace to catch up with her, but soon found as he reached the bend it was a dead end, it finished, nothing but a blank cliff wall. No way up and there wasn't anything below. This can't be it, all of this and a dead end?

Callen smelt mountain lion, it was an old scent, but it was there, was there something up here then? He walked on a little further, amazingly, there was something. Out of his view back there, in the right side of the cliff wall, there was a large cave entrance, the smell going straight in there. He didn't have time to admire that wonderful view of the near full moon and the forest landscape, he had to know if she was in there. "Daria." He whispered upon reaching it. He didn't have an answer; he didn't want to go all the way inside to find it was still inhabited by this mountain lion he could hear. "Daria are you there?" He didn't like this, what if the lion was about to come up behind him? He didn't want to stay here or go in. He started to back up.

"Callen?" No way…

He rushed inside and couldn't believe his eyes. He saw an eye shine he was familiar with, a glowing, which soon moved closer and relieved the source, Daria! "Oh my god." They rushed into one another holding themselves and embracing, Callen of the verge of tears. Daria giggled a little bit, it was nice to get affection like this from someone her size rather than from someone a quarter of it and stung. "I thought you were dead." He whispered, she felt his tear land on her shoulder.

"You're not getting rid of me that easy." She nuzzled his neck, happy to be together again. This was incredible, everything was falling into place now. They were safe, the wolves would think they were dead and the swamps are less than a day's walk away, everything was perfect right now.

They separated after what felt like an eternity, staring right at one another and without asking, Daria lifted her paws and began to feel around his face, taking in the mental picture she made as a blessing. She thought she'd never see it again for a moment, the only friend she had out in this part of the world, and she almost lost it. She brought her paws down to his shoulders and rest them there, holding her up. "Daria, I'm so sorry I didn't believe you." She only smiled a little bit. "You were right, she was there, she helped me find you."

"I told you nothing was going to happen to us, mom will always be there."

" _Too damn right."_ Daria only started laughing now.

"What?" He asked with a tilted head.

"She just says that nothing will happen while she'd here, we've got nothing to worry about."

 **Nice chapter for you here guys, rather enjoyed writing this one, let me know what you think and I shall get cracking on the next one. This are beginning to come to a close, I don't know if anyone has a guesses as to what's going to happen, but only time will tell. Until next time. :)**

 **The FalconWolf**


	16. Chapter 16 La Ronge Swamp

Vision for Sight

Chapter 16: La Ronge Swamp

Yesterday was a BIG scare, an awakening call as to how much danger they had gotten themselves in. They could sleep with ease knowing they were no longer being followed, they were sure of it. Not to mention that because they both got wet it would have rid their scents for short time, giving them a bigger opportunity to get away. Finally, they were safe. They slept well last night, keeping it that way until the late hours of the next morning where they awoke being side by side, thankful to still feel the other today after coming so close to no longer being able to. The pain in Callen's leg was nothing compared to the greater feeling of being with her again, no longer fearing he'd be alone again.

No morning meal today, there was nothing to be found, the forest was bare of many things, other than the trees of course and the normal environment. But Callen started to gather while was foraging that they had to be getting closer to the swamps, wildlife seemed to be the only thing that didn't thrive here. The was the first eerie thing he, Nick and Susie noticed when they first encountered the swamps before they eve entered it. So Callen returned to their cliff based den empty pawed. Daria wasn't to fussed, but something would need to be done today, yesterday's exhaustion took its toll in many forms, hunger being one.

So at mid-day and with plenty of light they moved on, knowing that they were be there before nightfall. Upon leaving however Callen could finally take in the view direct outside the den across the sheer drop. His eyes soon were drawn to the darkened area in the distance, covered in a layer of gloom that had to be the swamps. He gulped, he dreaded going backk there, his focus however when Daria joined him and he didn't want her to fall over the edge, the path was less than a wolf length apart, one step too far to their right and the inevitable would happen.

The atmosphere began to change the further they walked, Daria complaining of Callen whispering constantly in her ear when in truth he wasn't. He explained to her the stories Susie told him, after all she did live on the other side of it and right next to it. The forest apparently liked to play tricks, it was home to all sorts of things, good but more was bad. The of course was the witch who was responsible for it all, she was the one who cursed the land. There were many a story as to the she-wolf herself, some say she was good, others bad, that she didn't like others in the forest, saying it belonged to her. Others however hear of another story, that yes she did summon the monsters inside, but only those who meant no harm to her could pass. She was there to help, and only those that truly needed it could pass seek it from her.

Daria took it all in her stride as they neared, remembering everything Callen told her in case it was relevant or she'd need to refer to it later. She could sense it on him, she could feel it though his touch, he was scared. Every noise around them at this point so close now to the forest made him flinch, made his heart beat faster. His head constantly turned to look behind him for fear something was breathing down their necks. She had to admit, she was nerved, but she couldn't understand his worry like he did, she couldn't fully take in the atmosphere and environment around them. Initially he didn't seem over worried about taking her here, every time they spoke about the swamps he just answered as if any other question, but now the truth was seeping through. So Callen could be scared it seems…

Callen abruptly came to a stop, bringing Daria with him and making her ask… "What's wrong?" He gulped.

"We're here."

The forest was dead as he stared into the thick fog ahead, the trees had no leaves, the air was dense with fog and mystery. Looking behind him, everything appeared normal, leaves, birds, a breeze, a normal forest. Ahead was entirely different, the area's reputation perceived it. There was a reason nothing came here, the look of it was enough to deter anything from going near it. But that was the sole reason why he, Nick and Suzie entered in the first place that time, because they were young and dumb enough to ignore the stories and face the consequences.

Suzie's scream echoed in his head, the silhouette of some wolf in the mist and a black creature running at them, it was so brief, he could hardly remember it all. After all that, they still joked about it, when at the time it was more of a run for their lives! He was convinced of what he saw, that got in believing in that stuff and made him more open minded. But he still had to witness it for himself to understand it. But anyway…as he started back into the direction he last ran from, he found himself frozen.

"Are you ok? Come on, let's go." Daria insisted, if only she could see what they were about to walk into. The fog moved, part of it as if something stirred it by dashing across. Callen couldn't see more than twenty paces into it. He shook his head.

"I can't…"

"Can't what?"

"I can't…go back in there."

"What do you mean? Stop being dumb, let's go." She thought he was kidding, but as she pressed into him to encourage him to move she could feel how fast his heart raced, how warm he was, his muscles shaking ever so slightly.

"Y-you don't get it; you don't know what it's like. I don't want to go in there?"

"But you said…"

"I said I can get you here." He interrupted fiercely. "I didn't say anything about taking you in."

"Well what are we supposed to do now?"

" _We keep going."_

"What do you mean keep going? How when he won't take me?"

" _You've still got me."_ Callen, now in full understanding of her situation, clicked onto Daria.

"What's she saying?"

"I think she's saying she'll take me in."

" _Not think, I will."_

"Daria, if you go in there I can't protect you. How will you know where to go?"

"The same way I got to that cave yesterday." She smiled.

A gust of wind blew through, strangely enough, the only breeze to have past them the last couple of minutes. In the direction of the fog it blew, making a hole that went a fair good distance, creating almost a complete path through. Of course this still left Callen amazed, awestruck even, but at least he now had an explanation for this now. "Stay here." She said. "I'll be ok, and next time you see me I'll see you first."

He was reluctant, obviously, walking blinding under the protection of a dead wolf! It sounded insane, he sounded insane for what he said next. "Ok…" He nodded. "Just promise me you'll be careful. And if you hear that witch, don't believe her without good enough reason. The stories were made for a reason." She nodded.

"Ok, I got it." Suddenly, he pushed his muzzle to the side of her face, just to wish her the best of luck. She giggled, he was funny, what was the worst that could happen? She oved away, blinked and then turned around to then take a brief breath. "Let's go."

Callen watched her go along the tunnel that gust of wind created in the mist, walking further and further away. She was thirty paces into the journey when suddenly the wind blew again, this time far harsher than before, bringing with it a feeling of something more sinister, the gap closed quickly, consuming Daria in the mist. He didn't like this, he mentally kicked himself and physically scratched the ground for his cowardice. How could he let her go into there alone?!

Daria soon lost track of how long she had walked for, minimum for ten minutes at a guess. She began to quickly understand the stories Callen shared with her, the things he explained he saw and heard. She heard wisps of things, as if something had run right passed her. There were whispers, they called her name, told her to go back or to go a certain way. She walked on though, no point in hiding the fear when it got to a certain level, and the amount stirring within her chest was starting to prove to be too much.

The number of things she walked into, the bruises she knew she'd have at the end of this day. There was a screech of something in the distance, it made her jump and whirl around to face it. Fog wasn't really a problem back home, they never really had it, but here it was so thick Daria could taste it. It was dense, horrible, it tasted funny…

"Daria…!" That one was louder, and way clearer, more importantly, familiar.

"Callen?" She said loudly. Did he really brave it to come in after her? "Callen?!"

"I've found her, she's this way."

Callen's ears perked, he heard something he knew. His lifted his head from his paws and jumped up. His name being called. "Daria!" He shouted to her. She didn't answer, had something happened? He ran towards the mist, worried for her own sake, he warned her of this! But suddenly he stopped at the edge and quickly shuffled back, the thought of the last time he entered the mist came dwelling back, acting as a wall that prevented him from going any further. His paws were stuck to the spot!

He growled to himself and hit the ground, this was ridiculous! The pain unfurling in his leg didn't make a difference, the thought that he might encounter what he did last time was the thing that made his freeze with fear. What was he supposed to do?

Callen!" Daria shouted again. "Where did he go?"

" _I'm not sure this is a good idea."_ She tripped over something, landing with a hard thud that it knocked the wind out of her. She took her time to get back up, not in any rush at all knowing that Callen was around here somewhere.

"Daria? Come on where are you?" There he was again!

"I'm over here, I tripped!" And then he didn't answer again, and so with a groan she pulled herself up to her paws. He voice was close, much closer than before. She moved on, taking it much slower. After a while she stopped again, thinking it was time to take a new approach to finding her brave friend for coming in after her.

Daria placed her ear to the ground and listened, here she waited, holding this position to find out where he was. Mere moments later, she started to hear the taps of something moving, paw steps. She could feel the vibrations on the hairs in her ear, meaning the source wasn't far at all. "Callen come on, this way." She said, not as loudly seeing as he can't have been far.

"Your boyfriend isn't here princess." That voice wasn't Callen's, but something far worse. She sprung up, alert to the voice that once tried to strangle her, hearing it cackle. "It's just you and me."

"Leave me alone, I never hurt anyone!" She cried, how can he have found her? She couldn't pinpoint the location of where he was, his voice itself was misted by everything around him. She could however hear him moving closer to her, she struggled to move back though when she reared up into a tree.

"Your mother started all of this, I ended her so it's fitting that I end you."

"But I never did anything." She wept, knowing there was no way to go."

" _This isn't right…"_

"What?"

"You **sh** ould neve **r** have co **m** e **h** ere." He growled, his breath blowing on her chest. It was rancid!

" _That's not him!"_

" **Nobo** dy com **es i** nto **my fo** rest a **nd lea** ve **s**." What was with his voice? Daria clicked onto this, it was deformed, crackled, it wasn't his voice!" She could still feel the breath of him on her face, no wolf has breath this bad! **"It's time fo** r you **to go** no **w."** Daria made one bold move, whether it was her last she would find out. She lashed it, swinging her right paw. She made contact with the furry body, but as she did her paw passed through him, hard on contact by liquid when pushed further. Then then body vanished, the breath was gone as well as the disgusting smell.

Daria pulled herself up, the entire environment silent when suddenly…

" **Well it seems we have a clever one."**

"What the hell are you?!" Daria exclaimed.

" **You're smart, I'll give you credit for that."** The voice crackled. **"But you have your mother for that don't you."**

" _What are you doing? We agreed that…"_

" **We agreed that you can bring her here, I never said anything about you seeing my charge."**

"Mom what's he talking about?" Daria asked fearfully, she wasn't sure how to react to all of this, especially to this voice whose tone wasn't friendly.

" _Then what did you plan on doing?"_

" **Simple, leave or face the consequences!"**

" _You LIAR!"_

" **GET OUT OF MY FOREST!"**

" _LEAVE MY DAUGHTER ALONE!"_

"Your forest?" A third voice added, this one completely different, calmer, smoother and so…young. Again, all fell silent around Daria, all she heard was her own breathing and the paw-steps of the approaching girl. "Last I checked I was the one that own this forest." The girl giggled.

" **Kasey, these two bring nothing but trouble here."**

"Really? Because from what I heard you were the one causing trouble. Please excuse Daniel, he doesn't understand how to greet people properly."

"I…umm, I need…"

"Shh…You're ok, nothing's going to hurt you here." She cooed, making Daria flinch when she suddenly put her paw on her shoulder. She was a wolf, adding a little more worry to her. "My name Kasey, I understand you've come very far to see me."

" _We have; you won't believe the trouble we've gone through."_

"I think the girl can answer for herself." Kasey giggled again. Daria tilted her head a bit, puzzled.

"You can hear her?"

"There aren't many like us who have a gift such as this, it is to be cherish and used wisely. Or so my good friend here says."

" **Yeah, wisely."**

"Now where's your friend? I believe he's on his way."

"He's what?"

"Daria!" That familiar voice shouted again, this one was no delusion. He heard him thundering towards them, screeching to a stop beside her and nuzzling her side. "I'm so glad I found you. Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. Kasey this is…"

"I know who he is, you did a great job Callen."

Callen titled his head in confusion, this wolf was young, no more than five years old, she had a red complexion with a whiter underside. Her left ear had a gaping hole through it, her right cheek had some kind of symbol similar to a burn put onto her skin. In fact, she had a number of these, five maybe, the one on her cheek, one on her right shoulder, a third on her waist on her left side he said when she turned. A fourth was found on her back left forepaw and the last on the bae of her tail, they were something he'd never seen before. There was one last feature that he whispered to Daria. "She's blind too."

Daria looked at him, replaying what he said in his mind. "It's not polite to whisper about people Callen." She laughed and starting to walk around them. It seems the she-wolves had a thing or two in common, sensitive hearing being one of them. "Come on inside, I'm sure we have a lot to talk about." She then added, continuing to walk around them and into the mist. "Daniel, do you mind?"

Another one of those harsh gusts came through, moving right left to right and by them, this one worse than the others. Right as the girl was about to disappear, the gust cleared the fog around her in an instant, showing the entire area. Directly behind the tree, that Daria had initially backed up into, as a large mound of earth, a den. The ground a little way on from was crystal clear water with some depth to it, chest deep maybe. It was the clearest he had ever seen. The floor was stone, on the other side of the waters it was marshlands, a classic swamp. The fog seemed to a have stopped, creating this clearing of twenty paces in diameter, making a wall like structure around them. They practically walked into this den, could this just be a coincidence?

"Come on inside, and let us see to your leg." Kasey finished and disappearing inside.

"Is that…" He started.

"I think so." Daria finished.

This witch was nothing like the stories said, "an old hag that hated anyone who came inside", this girl was one of the friendliest wolves he's come across for a long time now. But there was something else that pressed his mind. She was blind, how did she know about his leg? Another…These stories of the "witch" go back almost fifteen years, the is no way that Kasey here can be nearly twenty years old, it was impossible! Inside the den were many things, piles of multi-coloured leave and tree roots, presumably anyway. The walls had writing all over them, written by her own paw at a guess, all these along with many symbols similar to the ones on her own body. Callen found crystals, powered, ones alike something he found in a tunnel once a while ago, very pretty. He even discovered a few very fine cuts of meat, none of it touched. And then he found a picture, is was a pups drawing by its quality, a small wolf with a larger one above it, like it was flying, and it was drawn fainter. Was this the "Daniel" she mentioned with her? Beneath that on the floor was the piles of crystals, these ones as you can imagine and whole.

"Ah, ah. They're not for touching." Kasey suddenly spoke.

"Ok, how can you see what I'm doing? For starters you aren't even looking at me." He questioned, she was on the other side of the den, looking among a pile of clutter and objects.

"Being blind has many benefits, hearing those who can't be seen is one of them."

"So you're like Daria?" He questioned, turning back towards them wall.

"Sort of, I'm just well trained." She laughed.

" **Don't think yourself so low."**

"I don't, it's called being courteous, Daniel." She snapped with a little humour thrown in there. "Now, Callen, I have something for you."

The second he turned around he was greeted by Kasey ramming her paw into his face, the shock of it naturally making him open his mouth and Kasey's clear shot forcing whatever it was she had down his throat. She forced his muzzle shut, and smacked him on the back, again, forcing him the make whatever it was down and making sure it stayed there. He pushed her away, exclaimed and he more or less chocked. Daria approached him, making sure he was alright and to help him get his breath back.

" _Was that necessary?"_

" **She can be a little rough; she's doesn't get a lot of company here."**

"Other than you, you big doofus." She laughed again.

"What the heck was that?!" Callen exclaimed, hoping whatever that was, wouldn't be harmful.

"I'm almost done." Kasey then approached him with one paw up with some sort of paste on it. He shook his head in an instant, moving his face away.

"Nope, you can't make me eat that this time."

"This isn't to eat." This girl was quick, she reached down and wiped it across his leg, smearing the paste across the large and deep gash. "It was verging on a break, you're a very lucky wolf you found me in tie.

" _I think you mean they're lucky to have me."_

"Maybe so." The pain in Callen's leg numbed, much like before that day he woke up. This was instant working, he even poked it and he felt very little pain towards it.

"Are you ok?" Daria asked.

"Yeah, I think I'll be fine." He smiled.

"Ok, now it's your turn Daria." Kasey said, turning her back to them and reaching for many ingredients at her station here. She looked to Callen as he did back, smiling to her. "I'll see you soon." She smiled back.

"And I you." And with that she left him and approached the witch, still hearing her moving around through her belongings.

" _Are you sure?"_

"Sure of what?"

" _Are you sure this is what you want?"_

"More than anything. Why are you saying this now?"

" _Everything is costly; I want to make sure that this will make you happy."_

"You should heed her." Kasey added, making Daria stop. "Everything comes at a price." She then felt Kasey stand before her, lifting her paw up and placing it on her own cheek. Daria's paw grazed the strange pattern there, building up an image of what it looked like in her head. "That one is "atoea", sight it means." She said before moving down to her shoulder, a completely different one. "This "shendi", it stands for lasting life." It was beginning to make sense.

She wasn't born like Daria was, she was made this way. It left the question as to how she came across it then, thankfully it was like her mind was read. "Daniel was always with me." She said. "But in order to hear him I had to surrender my sight. Then to be taught the arts I have I needed time, this one gave me a longer life to do that."

"I won't need one will I?" Daria hated the thought of having to burn herself in order just to see again.

"No." Kasey laughed again. "No I did this so I could and as a reminder at what cost it came at." She let Daria's paw go, turned around and carried on with her business.

"Would you do it again?" She asked.

"No. I have gone long enough knowing that I was meant to be this way."

"But that was a choice you had, I didn't."

"I still wouldn't change it for that world." She said confidently. "Which leaves me to ask, is this what you really want?" There was one simple answer to this, it didn't need much rethinking. After all, she came all this way, facing everything she did and defying death the times they did, all to do this, not turn away.

"I do. I want to see Callen's face, to look my guardian in the eye and tell him how thankful I am he saved my life. I don't want to be a liability anymore."

"Then we're done here." Kasey said, halting her movements. Callen watched as she came to a standstill, sweeping up a paw full of an ash like substance and holding still, all with her back to them. "This isn't going to be easy for you kiddo."

"I just want to say…" She never had a chance to finish before Kasey suddenly whirled around, swinging her paw around with her and virtually slapping Daria in the face and ramming that dirty ash into her eyes, making Daria seethe and cry out from all sorts of pain and displeasures. Before Callen could even stand though, all that fog from outside came crashing in like a tidal wave, bringing them all into that cloudy darkness.

" _May you always be happy, baby."_

 **So, I may have struck a little deal with a friend most of you will know. Well...it wasn't a deal, but a demand really. BastardFromNorth, my good old writing partner, is being, and I quote, "too lazy" to write up what what I've heard a great story. What I've said is I'm not post another chapter until he writes up at least one chapter, so I suggest if you want another chapter pop him a message, nothing nasty though please, something encouraging.**

 **Two chapters remaining, Let's see what they have in store for us. Until next time! :)**

 ** _The FalconWolf_**


	17. Chapter 17 Gaining A Sense

Vision for Sight

Chapter 17: Gaining A Sense

So much happened in the blink of an eye, the pain, the flooding, the tears, running, coughing, the terror, it was havoc. But two days later, things became clear, much clearer. Callen's leg healed, the wound now nothing but a scratch, the bone fixed and the starting infection cleared. By looking at it you'd simply think he'd scratched it, a long thin scab now was all that remained. He could run and jump and stamp all to his heart's content, it was all he now needed to understand this world, he wouldn't look at anything the same again after this insane journey. But there is of course one thing we're missing out on, the entire point to all of this and what he went through. It went something like this…

So the cave erupted with dust, fog and darkness when the wife smeared her powdered mixture into Daria's eye, this of course making her scream from both freight and the surreal sting that occurred whenever anything was jammed in there. Only this was SO much worse. Callen however managed to find her through the blanket of, and with her continuing to cry he guided her to where he was sure the exit was. Despite this only being, he couldn't see the walls, the entrance and he could hardly see her through this grey blanket.

They walked and walked, moving out and away to get out of this madness swirling around them, it was noisy when they got outside, the wind blew harshly, blowing their fur all over the place, flicking dust and dirt up and into the air. The witch, Kasey, was long gone, disappearing into the screen when she seemingly conjured it, so she wasn't a single thought right now. Moving on and on, after a few minutes the fog finally seemed to begin to clear, thin and the wind becoming less aggressive. Things became more visible, trees, hedges, smells and other things became clear again. Soon enough, and miraculously, the familiar sight of a waterfall appeared. The very waterfall that almost cost Daria her life and they last encountered the wolves chasing them. The fog cleared, yet another spectacle that blew Callen's mind, how did they travel a day's walk in but five minutes? Impossible, not for the La Ronge Witch apparently.

Daria still wept to herself, Callen stepped away from her to ensure that those wolves weren't actually here. Sure enough, he did actually smell the older smell of wolf, more than one, but their scents moved in the direction he ran in the day before in search of her, maybe now they could finally be well ahead of them and now lose them for good. "That was insane." He muttered. He couldn't fathom what happened, nothing would ever be seen the same again. He turned back to Daria who laid on the floor, continuing to rub her eyes and cry. "Stop rubbing them, it'll only hurt more and make it worse."

"I c-can't help it; it stings so much." She sniffed but stopping momentarily to blink a couple of times. "Where are we?"

"You won't believe me even if I told you." He said walking towards her. "Looks like that witch was…" He stopped staring down at her. "Daria…"

"What?" He sniffed again, this time opening her eyes a little more to look up at him. In the brief but multiple times that she opened them he saw something different. The mist that filled and covered he eye had thinned, and the more he watched the more he witnessed it disappearing. He had to verify it, he sat down in front of her and held her head with both of his paws to watch, she just laid there and let him. But then she noticed something.

"Something happening." She said.

"What, what is it?" He said, could it be working?

"I don't know, but right in front of me…I don't get it." He removed one paw held it in front of her face and moved it side to side. And incredibly he marvelled at the sight of her eyes following it. Her eyes moved and watched his paw move from right to left and back again. She started to cry again. "What's happening to me?" Her eyes were squinted now, evidentially it was getting too bright for her despite it being near sundown. But who could blame a blind wolf for any brightness being too bright.

"Daria it worked!" He exclaimed and awestruck. "It's me."

"What do you mean?" She sobbed again unable to understand this strange sensation. "He took her paw and placed it on his, lone behold she looked down and watched through very blurred eyes which rapidly improved the more the cloud cleared.

"It's me, I'm standing right here, that's you touching me. You can see!" Her paw slithered off from his and she stared down at it. She sat up, looking now at both of her paws, colour, shapes, patterns, textures…all of it hitting her in one big blow!

"This is what it's like?" She questioned quietly. "I can see you!" She laughed now, tears of joy and disbelief dripping from her sore eyes. "I mean, that's actually you?"

"How does it feel?" He grinned.

"I can't believe it; this must be a dream…Callen thank you!" She threw herself at him, wrapping her forepaws around his neck, his reaction was surprised but happy for her, so he returned the gesture and clasped his around her.

Anyway, that was two days ago and since it was a rollercoaster of a ride for them both. Callen leg improved from the partly broken and bleeding mess to the scratch it was now, and Daria explored what she could with her new sense.

Everything was new again, it was like she was born all over again. Seeing her reflection for the first time, really knowing now who she was and what she looked like. And in fact, what a wolf actually looked like and how boys and girls differed. For example, Callen was bigger, his fur around his chest and shoulders a lot thicker, not to mention the biggest detail to tell the two genders apart which that didn't need anything exploration. Speaking of him, his appearance was everything she imagined, and as her mother once said, and admittedly, he was indeed a handsome wolf. Then it came to putting objects to their names, simple things she found the most amazing. Trees, how tall they really were and how they were all different. Colours, what the colour green was, the colour of grass. Blue the colour of water and even the sky, they sky filled with grey cloud. She confirmed they were exactly all she saw before, nothing else, her eyes were a cloud. Only she could see light through them hence how she knew when it was light outside or dark.

It was almost like walking around with a child for Callen, teaching her everything as if she had never encountered it before. Technically she hadn't, not through vision anyway. She was the happiest girl around, literally…She bounded everywhere like a pup, excited, asking Callen what everything was and taking guesses, most of which she was right anyway. The views they saw, the animals they hunted for, now she fully understood the thrill of a hunt. Rabbits, fish, they even spied on an elf and her calf for a while before it moved on, everything was such a wonder.

They covered more ground because of her excitement, more the anything she wanted to get home now to see Floyd for the first time, introduce him to Callen and beg he could stay. The wolf even started to worry about him saying no, but he'd try to make the most of the opportunity to finally settle down somewhere. Finally, the life of travelling was over, they even spoke of trying to find a wolf pack that was supposed to live down south somewhere one day. In the two days since, they covered nearly double the ground they did on the way here, it took them seven days to get to the swamps, at this rate they'd be home in two more.

They found a shortcut around Lucas's territory, only entering for a short period before leaving again, heading uphill and into a rocky mountain area, very rocky, much of it loose. Night was starting to close in, they were tired and wanted to find a den, one hard push down, hopefully they'd be able to cross the lake where they encountered the humans and then after that they will camp out one final time before the last straight shot home.

Daria and Callen walked up the mountain area, Callen leading the way. He wasn't completely sure where to go, but he hoped if they could reach the summit they could see the way. Before they could reach it however, they did find a den, Callen advising to enter with caution though. Together they scented the cave and surrounding areas to discover it was unused, mountain lions were sure to be present in this area so they'd need to be alert. Daria began to make herself comfortable when Callen walked to the entrance. "I'm just going to check out that we're going to right way, I won't be long."

"Sure, see you in a few." She smiled. The den was very small, this one maybe about two wolf length wide, one length high and two and a bit deep. It would do as it faced away from the wind and would ensure they'd be warm.

She was excited to see Floyd, mainly his reaction, in fact…to just be able to see his reaction. Two days, she told herself this over and over again, she struggled sleeping the last few nights but that was just the happiness of it all. And it was because of this and the amount of excitement she couldn't wait here, she wanted out, where had Callen gone? She emerged from the den, now finding it was starting to drip with rain, only a light shower, nothing that would get them soaking within the next half an hour. She did however find a puddle, must have been formed from previous rain showers. She again gazed at her reflection, her "bright emerald eyes" as Callen had complimented. She grinned, brushing her long mane of fur back and proceeding to follow his scent around to the right of the den and up the mountain.

It was a nice night, other than the rain of course, that dampened things slightly. The clouds didn't look like they'd be around for much longer, hopefully anyway. Callen scent moved further up and along the mountain, going all the way up to the summit which was about a ten-minute walk, surprisingly further then she initially thought it was. But soon enough, the summit neared and lone behold was that grey wolf sat by the mountains edge. She smiled again at seeing him, he'd done so much for her, a complete stranger a week ago, she was indebted to him. "You ought to careful." She said. "It would be all too easy to slip here."

He was surprised to say the least that she was here, he told and expected her to stay behind. But he was happy she was here. "I was just enjoying the view." He told her as she sat down to his left.

"I was starting to wonder why I didn't bump into you on the way here." She giggled. They sat together, annoying with the rain getting a little heavier, but they didn't seem to mind it, it actually felt nice believe it or not. The moon's light seeped through the clouds, that was another thing to look forward to, the moon was covered by cloud last night, and now final she could see it again. In the distance the cloud revealed a great, big, bright full moon. Daria's jaw virtually dropped, it was the most beautiful thing she had seen in the last few days. "Callen." She said breaking the silence between them. "I can't thank you enough, and I know I've said it a lot, but my thanks won't be enough. You've made me the happiest she-wolf ever and I don't know how I will repay you." He rubbed her back with his paw affectionately for a moment before answering.

"There's no need, when you're ready we'll go and find that pack you told me about, then we can be really happy." Then his eyes returned to the moon, whereas Daria's moved down to her paws, for she knew exactly what he was talking about. The day they met, their deal…

" _A pack, my old pack. It's only a couple of miles away from here._ " The quote held within her memory replayed itself back in her mind and run in her ears. _"Help me, if you get me to those swamps, I'll tell you where they are."_ This moment had to come didn't it? She had to tell him at some point, that she lied from the very start, there was no benefit for him in this. Honestly she hoped it would never come to it, that he'd forget and he'd happily stay with her and Floyd. Then as she proposed, find this pack to the south when they were ready. But clearly he wanted to go sooner, he was looking to find this pack she promised him.

She gulped, better sooner rather than later right? "Callen, look…" He listened. "I got to tell you something." Suddenly he chuckled a bit, bringing about some confusion for her. What was funny?

"You don't need to tell me." He said after settling. "There is no pack."

"How did you know?" She asked, breaking away from his, almost, punishing gaze.

"Lucas may have been an ass." He told her. "But he was honest about one thing, that there wasn't anything on my side of our deal." He then took a more disappointing tone. "To be honest I did suspect it after the humans on the lake. How could a blind wolf seriously know the precise location of a pack?"

"Are you mad?"

"To be honest…" Here it came, the moment she learnt her lesson. "Not as much as I thought I'd be when we finally talk about it." Again, she was surprised, she's be livid if this was her. "I had fun, I guess I still like the adventure." She breathed a little more now, feeling as though she had held it in for hours. That great weight had finally been removed after a week! "And I met you, you're my only friend now, and helping you do this was the only payment I need. You're incredible, you are Daria; you trust a wolf you don't know, jump into still and flowing water when you can't swim, you travelled all this way with me and those wolves chasing up and you walked into something I couldn't. Daria you have nothing to be sorry for, this has probably been the most amazing trip I've been on. The personal satisfaction of this was enough."

"I don't know what to say."

"There's nothing to say." He said nuzzling her cheek a little bit. "Just sit here and watch the moon with me."

And so they did, they sat together side by side in silence watching to moon gradually rise over the forest, the rain down made then drenched, maybe they were wrong and it wasn't going to end soon. The view was spectacular, Callen even point out the route they'd be taking, and even the lake they first initially crossed which he dared to try and cross with her. It wasn't wide, but it was VERY long, hence why they didn't want to walk around the first time, they took the opportunity that ended badly. This time Daria had some knowledge on swimming, it would be worth it.

"You know." He said. "On nights like this my mom and dad would take me out to a meadow where's they'd teach me to howl and what the purpose of it was."

"Floyd never did explain it; I've never really tried it either." This sparked an idea in the young male's mind, a way to relive old memories and experiment a little. Callen lifted his head up high and pushed out his chest, it had been a while.

" **It's a brand new day."**

What was he doing, immediately he caught her attention.

" **I can feel the change, and it's like a million light's light up…"**

She laughed though. "What are you doing?"

"Howling is about realising emotions, mom used to tell me, that whatever you do from inside will always work out no matter what. There was a deeper meaning behind it too but I can't really remember it."

A way of releasing emotions? It was interesting certainly, but as she said, Floyd never taught her this stuff as Porcupines didn't howl. He said it was a wolf thing, but seeing as he wasn't a wolf he didn't really understand it, so therefore he couldn't teach it and she found no interest in trying it. Now however was different, there subject was brought and pushed forward by someone who seemed to know what they were doing. She felt it, deep down something natural.

Callen again tilted up head and readied for another when he was stopped.

" _It's a brand new start, I can feel your heart beating now,_

 _The fire never burns right out, and there were always sparks."_

They crossed gazed briefly, sharing a smile before continuing.

" _But now that we're back again_ _ **to see what we've got**_

 _ **I know what it is and I know what it's not."**_

" **All that we ever had,** _ **they're gone away,**_

" _And it still remains, it's here…"_

" _ **Tonight, tonight, been waiting all my life for tonight, it's like, we never said goodbye,**_

 _ **We don't need…anything at all…tonight, you're mine I'm yours, you're mine I'm yours, you're mine I'm yours…"**_

It came to a steady end but quick end. She was impressed, her first howl, Daria was happy with it at least. She had to admit, there was something unbelievably natural about that, she was made for it, as evidentially he and all wolves were. She was breathless, as he was marginally when they turned to look at one another. What was that? The bang in the chest, both of them felt this, it was horrid. It was enough for Daria to notice how close they had gotten, their cheeks brushing against one another, moving even closer when suddenly she paused, holding still a moment. "What are you doing?" She whispered.

"I…I was going to kiss you." A strange word, sure Floyd had kissed her cheek often, this this was one different and held an entirely new meaning, Daria knew it too.

"I've never done this before." She gulped.

"Me neither." He admitted, both of them still stuck in place. "Shall we try?"

He hardly had time to finish before Daria moved in that last inch and completed the moment and moved in. They were the only two on the planet in this moment, and as the rain poured on over them thunder could be heard in the distance, moving in ever closer. A sign perhaps? The invisible guide maybe retaliating? Or better yet, an unhappy mother? She had been quiet lately, but now of this was a concern right now, right now it was just to two of them in this moment.

Neither could explain it, but the amount of rain pouring now was starting to ruin things and the briefly held kiss had to be aborted. They locked eyes momentarily, trying to decipher the feelings they experienced before they looked up at the gloomy sky. "Maybe we ought to head back?" Daria suggested. Callen nodded, it wasn't sensible to be out now, but this was all so confusing to them both, they knew this wouldn't be the end of it.

 **Now if you aren't familiar with the random bold and italics near the end there, that was indeed a song, Callen's was the bold and Daria's in the Italics, never resist a song I can't. hahaha**

 **Anyway, this one took a lot of thinking, maybe too much, bot sure what to make of it really. I admit now my writing style has changed since I first started, I can see it now. For the better or worse though? Back on track...big scene here and moment for the two, I can confidently say I bet a number of you were thinking this was going to happen, but something else is coming up that I bet hardly anyone was. Now the way this next chapter is going to wok out is by how I saw the film, I saw it in a different way to how most people will have, I guess there's only one way to find out if ayone else did see it the way I did. Leave a review, even if you are a guest reader, pretty please! Until next time. :)**

 _ **The FalconWolf**_


	18. Chapter 18 Losing Everything

Vision for Sight

Chapter 18: Losing Everything

The following morning brought a nicer day then what the night left them with, a sunnier, brighter and even chirper morning. They slept it, just everything about the environment complimented the moment. Daria's eyes fluttered open upon the sun reaching her eyes, the den not deep enough for them to hide away. Of course, the ability to now see the sun was an incredible thing, but like most she wished it hadn't disturbed her, especially now. She groaned and went to yawn, moving as she did so, but her movements were somewhat restricted. Callen's foreleg was draped over her, his chest against hers and his head right in front of hers. Last night's memories came flooding back in an instant.

The howl, the meaning of it still yet to be defined, then the obvious kiss. It didn't end there, it continued when they reached the den, making out in both slow and vigorous passion until they fell asleep. It went no further, neither wanted it to end, but sleep persisted they stopped. She stared at him, a grin spreading across her face as she giggled silently to herself before nuzzling in closer to him and sliding her head under his chin. He moved instinctively in his sleep and held her again, a feeling that brought much comfort as she rested her eyes again to dwell in the moment. What was this feeling? It was indescribable, the butterflies, minor chest pains, weakness, the attraction to him. It was so alien, never before felt.

Minutes passed by when the light then disturbed Callen, causing him to have the same reaction, maybe it little more abrupt. He breathed in sharply, stretching out all four limbs all without opening his eyes and groaning loudly. Daria flinched and moved slightly, giving him some room as almost immediately after he was done he sat up. He opened his eyes then and saw she was wake, still lying there and looking up at him. "Hey." He smiled.

"Hi." She replied just as happy to see him while rolling onto her front. "Sleep alright?" It was an almost awkward topic moment it was.

"Yeah, I did. And you?"

"Uh huh." She nodded slowly.

"Look, last night was…awesome, I mean, the howl was…"

"Odd?" She tried to finished.

"That." He agreed. "I mean, I never howled with someone like that before, it was different."

"I've never howled at all." She responded humorously. "I'd say it was good." The tension swarmed in on the two, awkwardness building rapidly.

"Look, I'm sorry…"

"No need to be sorry for anything." Daria interrupted. "I don't know what happened last night, but to be honest, I liked it."

"I did to, I'm just not sure how to go from here."

"We've still got a day before we get home, that's plenty of time, don't you think?"

"Yeah, ok." He said happier. "Right, then I'll go and find us some breakfast, then we can keep moving. Sound ok?"

"Great, can't wait." He turned to head out, eager to find some food.

"Ok, see you soon. And, oh…" He stopped quickly and turned, then sheepishly moved towards Daria while she laid down on her front waiting to see. Soon enough, he bent down and quickly kissed her on the cheek, holding a moment to gaze into her eyes before finally moving away.

"Thank you." She said softly right before he nodded and then scurried outside to find something to eat. A moment of two before he was out of sight, she giggled again, but loudly this time, and slumped back down and rolled over onto her back. Absolutely perfect!

Several minutes, Callen soon discovered there wasn't a great source of prey around here, and the lake they needed to cross was too far for breakfast. There were two options at this point, find some vegetation, or wait until they get to the lake for some fish if they could find any. But to be honest he was hungry, and soon enough he found his least favourite thing, but Daria's favourite and that was a berry bush. So he took a deep breath and started breaking off branches with the best ones.

His thoughts of last night obvious and like many wolves made him happy, he felt great, everything was just perfect, he started humming and gently singing a little song because of this. Just a little tune, keeping it to himself, thinking as well what could go with this. Flowers! Or was that pushing it? Yeah, maybe it was, a kiss on the cheek this morning was something, but maybe that was going too far, it wasn't good to go too over the top. As he said, they weren't sure what this was yet. Evidentially she knew nothing of love, he knew very little but picked up on a lot from Nick and Susie. He felt a strong connection with her now, it had grown during their time together. He hoped this porcupine "Floyd" she was so fond of and was desperate for him to meet would let him stay.

"Is that enough?" He questioned to himself. "No harm it too much is there."

"You little runt!" He turned around to discover the voice, but to be charged into and knocked into and straight through the berry bush. It knocked the wind right out of him when he landed, scraped and scratched by the hedge. He gasped greedily on the air, his head spinning and trying to figure out what had happened. In a second however, a second wolf came crashing though, his paws and claws extended and his jaws ready to pry shut on him. So in the last possible second Callen rolled back towards the hedge and his plan worked, the wolf jumped over him, landing where he did. Callen took the moment to jump up and run.

"Saleen GO!" He bellowed, she came dashing around taking off after the target with Neil and the others close behind. He wasn't getting away this time, for they actually knew this area despite it wasn't in their territory, and they knew this was the last straw for this young wolf.

Meanwhile Daria was completely oblivious to what was happening outside, she just patiently waited, remaining on her back this entire time, drifting her paw back and forth along her stomach. Callen's touch last night was something she'd never forget, the first time she had experience that. And, with some luck, it wouldn't be the last. She didn't know much about love, only the type and she and Floyd share, family, this was different. What drove them to that last night was a mystery, kissing like that with her best friend, they had a lot to talk about indeed.

How long was he taking? Surely if he couldn't find meat, he would have brought back some berries or something? She started to grow bored, as per usual, what was he doing out there? Some sort of surprise? Maybe, he must be planning something. She rolled onto her front, bringing her rear up and extending her forepaws to stretch. "Hey, mom?" She groaned, relieving her aching muscles. "Any idea where Callen is?"

She stood up, walking towards the entrance to gaze outside and another bright ad beautiful day. Funny though, there wasn't an answer. It wasn't the first time however she was ignored, mainly after something she did wrong, a punishment is a better way to say it. What did she do wrong this time though? "Mom?" She questioned again. Now this was indeed odd, by now something would have been said, or a sign. "What are you doing? Are you looking for him?" She could multitask, she knew, she could be talking to her right beside her while saying she's doing something elsewhere. But still, she would still seem to be here. "Where did you go?" She was curious, maybe a little worried now. Both she and Callen were gone.

She did something before when she was younger, she was taught, it's the way she could somehow channel further hearing, pushing further then hers could anyway. Apparently linking the two together. She closed her eyes, looking and focusing, really at this point all she had to do was wait and she'd be connected, the work was done for her essentially. She waited, and waited, but then it clicked, and it was horrifying. "Mom!" She screamed. How could this have happened?!

Callen continued to charge on, trying to regulate his breathing and outwit the pursing wolves. How did they find them? They were safe, they had even passed their territory already so why did they not just stay? Were they that eager? Did Lucas tell them not to return without their heads?! Honestly, they may as well be the case, because these wolves were driven and catching up on him. He couldn't lead them to Daria, that was too risky. He's been gone longer then he should have so the chance are that she may very well have come looking for him now. He didn't know this place as well as these wolves did so he could only run blindly for the time being.

"Run in to the ravine, we can corner him there." Neil ordered to his Alphas to were eager to get this over and done with.

Daria was now in a huge state of panic, this was bad, this was new. There was a gap, a void missing inside her, she even cried a little bit as she bolted into the woods and following Callen's scent. Never had she felt more alone, no voice to speak beside, to guide her the right way, she hated it, she needed Callen!

She stopped when his scent grew stronger in this area, she also found branches of berries littering on the floor in a pile. This was what he was going to bring back, but where was he? She lifted her nose and inhaled deeply, among the forest and his scent also were wolves. She couldn't believe it; they had found them again. But what had they done with Callen? That was the more worrying thought. "CALLEN!" She screamed, of course it wasn't going to work, he was nowhere near, it was an act of desperation. "Mom please." She cried. "I need your help." Still crying, she silenced herself a little bit to hear as she placed her ear on the floor, listening for sounds carried by it and feeling for vibrations with the hairs.

Again, she waited when soon enough she could indeed feel the tremors, meaning they weren't terribly far away. But it was faint, they had a head start on her. The idea of this is that she could judge a distance, where they were, was another story. Whether it was good news or not, but there was a howl in the air, now that gave her the direction, she had no time to waste.

The trees thinned out as Callen found he was running blindly uphill, the ground started to become rocky rather than grass. These wolves were persistent, each time he glanced he would see a horrific sight of four wolves trying to murder him. Was this "adventure" he sought for when he first left home really worth this? He sharp bend, sliding to a stop at the discovery of a steep drop. To the right was a narrow path, so he took it, no going back now, they were right there…

"I'll cut him off!" Saleen shouted and abruptly veering right up another steep embankment.

"I'll go with her." Karl added and clambering up right behind her, this was where this was going to end.

Callen soon realised he made a mistake, the path remained narrow, maybe only a metre wide. To his right was a vertical wall, on his left was a shear drop! Ahead though it seemed to spread out, paws crossed he could make a get-away here.

He dashed out of the pathway, bee-lining to the trees again when out of nowhere that she-wolf leapt down before him. He hardly had time to react, he narrowly avoided running into her paws. He dodged and ran right, finding the ravine ended here, he could just run around her! Plan ruined…A second wolf forced him to run around the ravine, making him come close to the edge. Then he realised the stupid thing he did, he boxed himself in. It was a dead end, just a wall before him and to his right, his left showed the deep ravine so deep they couldn't see the bottom and then behind him was…in another word, death! This was the plan, herding him here where he couldn't run anymore, this was set-up!

"There's no-where to run now boy." He whirled around, his back against the wall. "The only way is down." Neil gestured to the ravine, which when Callen glanced at saw there was no chance he could jump it, the other side was seven times his length. There was no way out that he could see. "Tell us where she is and we might rethink this." He didn't say a word, he stood still glaring back.

"Look." Saleen said stepping forwards. "Tell us where the girl is and you can go, she's all we're here for."

"She's not blind anymore." Maybe this would work, if she was no longer classed as a "weak wolf" then what was the problem? "She's cured, there's no need for this."

"We can't go home until she's gone." Steve snarled. "Tell us where the bitch is or…" Callen roared, that word enough to make him no consider fighting back where as the more rational side of his mind defiantly wouldn't have. He crashed into him, trying to push him back. Two things that went very wrong in that moment, firstly he was up against a trained Alpha, much stronger than he. Secondly, he was pushed back by him and Karl towards the ravine, and working together the two thrusted and almost threw him mere feet from the edge. Ok, maybe there was three, the ground made the most disturbing sound, and it cracked. He lifted himself up, discovering the cracks around him which more worryingly must mean the ground was thin. Underneath was corroded by time, much more weight and it could go, what scared him even more was clearly they was this too.

"A move like that again will cost you your life." Neil sternly. "Now I'll say again, where is Daria."

"Callen!" He gasped. Was she really out here? Her voice was faint, so she was far anyway. She was about to walk right in!

"You better call back to her." Neil then added, thinking of an idea. He placed his paw on the edge of the ledge and applied some force, making it crack more. He wanted Daria to live, but then so did he.

She heard him call her just her name, she knew where to go now though this rocky area. She was going the right way, she hoped he was ok as well as her. Something was so wrong with, this had never happened before. There was an opening which she took and in doing so she came across a very narrow path, down and to her left was a dangerously deep ravine. But more importantly, Callen was on the other time, not so importantly, so were those wolves. She froze to the stop, all of them looking up at her.

"Daria I'm sorry." Callen said up and across to her, he really didn't want to have to, but if there was going to be any way out of this it was going to be done together. Before she could react however, from behind her one of the male wolves leapt down from above and blocked her exit.

"Come and join us please Daria." Neil shouted towards her, finally a little smile crept onto his lips when knowing that they would be sleeping in their own dens tonight. She was nudged delicately, just to be encouraged. In her freight she looked back at Karl who in turn looked back at her, more so her eyes, the reason they were here and have been after them the last week. He paused, she was supposed to be blind? "Neil, he was right!" He shouted, never removing his eyes from her.

"What?" Neil responded.

"She's fine, she's not blind!"

"Of course she is, we've all seen it!" Saleen added, it was ridiculous he would say that. They have all seen her and the evidence supporting it.

"Do you want to come and see for yourself?!" He said ferociously back. "She's not blind!" He wanted done with this, if this was now the case then what was the point in being here? There wasn't, she was no harm to the pack like this so why was there a need to go through with it?

"Well what do we do now?" Samuel said, clearly thinking aloud for most of them. This wasn't something they expected to encounter. The job was simple, eliminate the weak wolf and go home with all past transgressions will be forgotten. Saleen's theft, Samuel's record for failed hunts, Karl's history of lying to the leader of the pack and then Neil's failed attempt at apprehending Daria initially. They all had to stop her and put her down, along with Callen, but now that she appears to be healthy like all other wolves what was the need for this? There was none. They'd be stupid to return, so what's to stop them from take a little fur and blood from one and leaving? Karl relaxed beside Daria as he waited for a new order, Callen waited, maybe there was hope. Saleen stepped beside Neil to whisper in his ear.

"The pack isn't compromised." She said quietly to make sure nobody else heard. "They'd be foolish to go back, let's just say the job was done and go." Her words didn't take Neild mind of a new subject, his embarrassment.

Callen tackling and first letting them get away, then Daria's trick that ended up with him needing to be rescued beside the river back, entangled in the tree roots. Allowing humans to drug his Alpha Leader, before slipping away, leaving him with ridiculous theories of witches. The waterfall, the freak lightening, and ability to someone backtrack behind them without passing, it was luck they managed to find their scent again. The more he dwindled the Callen began to hope and look back up to Daria with a comforting smile.

Neil looked up to Karl and gestured for him to come down, he took it as a sign though to move Daria with him. So he nudged to get her moving in which she started walking with a brisk pace around to him.

"So it seems fate says otherwise." Neil murmured. "How did you do it?" Callen gulped but didn't move.

"We found someone who helped us, she healed her." By this point Daria and Karl were behind them were Neil signalled for him to stop, so they did.

"You know why I had to do this, right?"

Callen nodded, able to take a breath of relief. "I do; I promise you won't see any more of us."

"Good." But then he saw Neil face change, turning far more sinister and angry. Before anyone could react or even anticipate it coming, he sprung forward, extending his forepaws towards the young wolf. He hit him hard in the chest, push him back and careful not to land on the ledge himself. This move pushed Callen to the edge, his loss of balance sending him…over the edge. Luckily, he dug his claws into the ground, anchoring him down right before he could slip over. He groaned and seethed at the strength it took to hold him still. His legs hung limping, there was nothing to grip to help move him up. The entire disturbance cracked the ledge even more, the wrong move now would be disastrous. Of course, naturally Daria tried to intervene, but in an instant Karl wrapped his paws around her and held her still. Saleen blocked her to further ensure she couldn't move and aid him, even though she didn't understand what he was doing. Of all honesty she thought he'd let them go…

"You humiliated me in front of my whole pack." Neil sneered. "Both of you!" He barked back to Daria. "I was Lucas's Beta, now I'm his freaking lapdog because of you." They all saw now, this was no longer about a job, this was revenge. "I can't go back until this is done, none of us can you ruined me!" He raised his paw to Daria and slapped her with the back of his paw. He gasped and looked away, trying to keep as far from him as she could, it was hard like this.

"Leave her alone!" Callen bellowed, trying to draw back the attention, it worked. Neil used the same paw in the same swing to then punch the ground with all of his strength, enough to cause him a great deal of pain. Cracks formed under it and quickly spread around the ledge, the last push had been completed. Callen started to panic, franticly trying to reach for something underneath him to supply him grip to get up. But there was nothing there, nothing at all, and he didn't have the upper body strength to do this.

Daria then had the courage to look up again, with tears in her eyes she watched what unfolded before few days old eyes. Callen looked back at her, the ground started to become loose around him, the earth moving and crumbling away. There was nothing she could do; she didn't know what to do! He knew this, he was scared he wasn't ready. A she-wolf came into his view, the same one from before. She sat just behind Neil with that same smile on her face, could nobody else see her? Evidently not. A sign this was. He looked back at Daria, the ground now giving way, and the world paused, everything slowed in the moment.

"I'll see you soon." Then Daria screamed…

"NO!" The earth gave way, and with Callen's weight he gave way with it and the mass fell into the dark abyss. Daria continued to scream while Neil's deathly stare watched in anger as Callen's paws went over the edge.

Suddenly, a loud ear-piercing gunshot screamed over Daria's voice. This broke Neil's stare and made him focus on the ridge opposite them, the higher route Saleen used to first cut the dead wolf's path earlier. Two stood with weapons, right after a second fired and narrowly missed Saleen's paw. This was a new situation…

"Neil, let's go! Leave her!" The wolves scrambled, running deep into the trees to the left of the ravine and never looked back. Neil had a little bit of blood on his paws, it was evidence enough. Daria however wasn't fazed by the humans or the noise they made, she crawled to the ledge and looked down into the black below, looking for him.

"CALLEN!" She cried, her voice bounding around and echoing within the deep, it was the only response she had back. "CALLEN, CAN YOU HEAR ME?!"

The humans cocked their weapons, ready for those wolves if they returned. Thomas and Alice looked down at the she-wolf, unable to believe what they just witness and what they were too late for. "I can't believe that just happened." She gasped.

"The ravine's nearly two hundred feet straight down." Skipper said shaking his head. "If you wolf is down there he's not coming back up."

"So is that it?" One of the crew added.

"Alice, look at her." Thomas pointed and crouching down. Their attention focusing back to her. "She's looking for her mate, that's a visual response."

"And her eyes." Alice added, only just able to make them out from the distance they were. "They look clear from here. She can see."

"How is that possible?" Skipper questioned. A blind creature no longer visually impaired was a first for him.

"Maybe we thought wrong." Alice shrugged. The she—wolf yelped and cried down into the ravine, it was unfair. "Poor girl, there's nothing to be done here. She'll be stressed out enough if we interfere." The ship wasn't far; their own mission was finished.

Daria was laid on her front, her left paw and head over the edge with her own tears dripping down her face and into the black beneath. "Callen please…" She had lost her voice, the chaos getting to her and the indescribable emotion dwelled from the sight for Callen. She cried and called on and on, her hoped resting on he was just injured or unconscious, but hopes turned into what she stared at, darkness. Her mother and now Callen, she lost everything.

 **I've said it once and Ill say it again, this story has gone this way and will do in accordance to how I believe the film turned out. People has criticised me in the past for pointless deaths, this was not one of those. As I said, this was how I saw the film, it will all make sense in the next and final chapter. Stay with me guys, the ride is almost over. Until next time. :)**


	19. Chapter 19 The Final Challenge

Vision for Sight

Chapter 19: The Final Challenge

There was no skip in Daria's step now as she walked on, no twinkle in her eye at everything she looked at, nor a quizzing thought as to what something new to her was. She was an empty shell as she approached the narrow lake she had previously almost drowned in. All she wanted now as to go home, there she would find the only critter who could offer her company now. It took her until mid-day to get here, waiting for hours to find a sign or hear a sound before doing the only thing she could do, and that was moving on.

With her paws touching the water, she gazed down at her reflection she had come to familiarise herself with, only to think now how alien it looked, almost nothing like her last check. Metaphorically speaking of course, her looks were still there, but they had just lost their interest and colour, if that makes any sense. She sighed and lifted her head, looking at the distance she had to swim now. It was going to be a challenge. "Ok." She said, mustering her courage. "Scratch and kick."

Indeed, it was tricky, and it wasn't exactly the most gracious of swimming styles or techniques, but it worked. Sure, she submerged may times and she felt like she'd swallowed half of the lake, but she crawled out alive on the other side. She shook dry, a lot of her energy spent so next to no little effort was used on the movement. She looked back at the distance she had come, peering over to the other side and scanning the treeline, somewhat in hopes that she'd see something. The pause continued for very little time, and again, she moved on.

Everything was her fault, everything that had happened today was her doing because of her requests. Daria asked Callen to be her guide, she wanted her vision to be restored, the one thing that she had wanted for a long time, but also the same thing that kept her in contact with her mother whom now she had lost also. Alone was something she wasn't used to, not like this anyway. She had always felt connected with her mother, a thread tying them together, hence why the sensation of loneliness was something she hadn't really experienced before. But now the thread had been severed as she plodded along closer to home, following the stale scents she and Callen left behind.

The times she found herself looking back, again all in hopes that she'd spot a familiar wolf walking up behind her, trying to catch her up. At one point she thought she did, but it was merely her imagination, and most of these moments ended with her crying for a bit. Was it love she felt for him? Is that why she acted like this? She'd never know now; Floyd was all the love she needed right now.

Light was starting to become faint as Floyd pondered around his and Daria's home, he hoped spreading his scent around as much as he was and has been these last few days would help Daria find her way home. If she ever planned to return. Whatever made her pursue a thought of running away would remain a mystery for the foreseeable future. Was it something he did or said? He was sure it can't have been, what could he say that would make her do this? He wouldn't say a bad word against her, never has and never will. Did she find something? But he hid nothing for her. Was she bored of him? He thought he was entertaining for her most times. Sure he was strict sometimes, but he had to be for a teenager, any guardian or parent has to. He exhausted his reasons, finding an answer for them all. Only she could answer why. He came to a log just outside of their cave, hollowed out. A memory flashed by his eyes of her as a pup, maybe seven months after he took her in. He was teaching her about the area when she began playing hiding and seek here. He found her in this log, his little lesson abruptly ended to play this game. "Floyd…" He chuckled lightly, her voice playing back in his head as if she was really here. "Floyd!" That time seemed a little more realistic. He was confused, was it? He turned around and walked a little distance to see through the trees. He could not believe his eyes when he saw his grey she-wolf walking towards him. "Daria!" He yelled joyfully and dashing towards her.

Her ears perked and brought her eyes to him, the spiked critter running at him in the distance. This was the first smile she'd had all afternoon. "Floyd, I'm back!" She picked up her speed and when she had almost reached him dropped herself to the ground on her front and reached out her head for him. She always knew to let Floyd doing the hugging. He practically crashed into her, nuzzling her cheeking as she now cried some tears of happiness. "Daria I'm so sorry for whatever it was that I did." He said in relief, almost begging forgiveness.

"You didn't do anything." She sniffed, almost laughing. "I'm sorry for going, I shouldn't have. I'm really sorry."

"Hey, look here." He brought his head away to look at her, also lifting her head up. "You're home now, that's all that matters. Just please don't do that again to me." She nuzzled his paw again, looking into his eyes through the corner of her own.

"It's so good to see you." Now she understood why it hurt to touch his body, his entire back was covered in those "pines" he talked about, painfully, long stingers.

He chuckled a bit. "Don't make me la…" Then he saw it, her eyes, clear as ay others. Instead of a clouded, murky set he had come to know and love, a set of beautiful emerald eyes looked back into his. "Daria, can you see me?"

"Did you always look so old?" She joked, her mind virtually taken off the subject that's been there all day.

"How…How did you do this? Where did you go?"

"I found someone who healed me, she gave my sight back."

"You got there all by yourself?" He questioned, unable to believe this. This was a miracle.

"No, I found another wolf you took me and…" That moment of happiness, gone, shattered as it was replaced with thoughts of this morning, the stinging bruise on her cheek, and Callen.

"A wolf? Daria I told you all wolves are…"

"This one wasn't." He interrupted, unsure if she could talk much longer without breaking down. "Callen helped me all the way, Floyd he saved my life and I couldn't have gone all the way if he hadn't taken me."

"Well here is he?" He asked, looking behind her to see if anyone was there.

Her lower lip quivered. "He's…He's gone."

"Gone where?" There was no holding back now, here it came. She suddenly broken down there and then in front of him, dropping her head to the ground and covering her eyes and crying heavily into them. Floyd comforted her, whatever happened was one hell of an ordeal for her clearly.

The remained there, Floyd doing what a guardian should do and comforted her to the best of his ability while Daria sobbed into her paws repeating over and over again how she shouldn't have left and how sorry she was. She never did tell him what happened to this wolf, but putting the pieces together he managed to figure it out. What on earth had happened though to cause this was something he dared not ask, for now he needed to do his job and help her through it. Evidentially she had a strong attachment to this wolf so this wasn't going to be easy.

Night fell and Daria had settled some, she now just lay on the cold stone floor. Her energy was spent today, there was nothing now to do she was home until tomorrow came. Floyd of course continued to try and brighten her up, on a rare occasion in the last few hours did he see a small smile or hear a delicate giggle as they spoke softly. Of course, he asked about her vision and how she came to get it, and of course she responded honestly. Glumly, but honestly. It wasn't exactly the answer he expected to hear, a witch cured her. But what other reason could it have been? To be honest it was the only thing he could say he understood, no other explanation seemed to fit her story. But this then did lead on to other stories later on.

He could see she was hungry, she hadn't eaten today and although she most defiantly wouldn't want to now he had to try. He dragged behind him a branch from a nearby berry bush for them to share, a great amount of effort now needed with the rugged path up the to the cave now. Leaping from ledge to ledge and all without dropping their dinner, a hard feat for his size. "You know…" He said as he approached. "The forest has been a whole lot different since you left?"

Now she grew a little curious. "What do you mean?" She asked lifting her head.

He spat out the branch before here. "More birds for one, damn annoying things." He grumbled. "More sun, more critters seem to just be walking in too. Doesn't look like they're afraid of our forest now." He finished chuckling.

"That was mom." She sighed.

"Mom?"

She nodded gently. "You know that imaginary friend I had as a kid?" He did. "Well it turns out she was my mom, she watched out for me all this time. I tried to tell you a long time ago but that's what all you said it was."

"You mean her ghost?" Today has gone now from amazing to almost back to normal, full of mysteries surrounding this girl!

"I guess." She shrugged, reaching over and plucking a berry from the branch in-between her claws. "She did that outside." She referred to the rubble caused by the lightning strike. "She was the one who told me about the witch in the first place, she even took me out where I found Callen."

Floyd was undecided, whether to pursue this train of thought of to one again dismiss it, putting it to her imagination again or just agree with her and lie. But then again wolves are empathic creatures, intuitive by nature, she'd figure him out sooner rather than later so lying wasn't really an option. "So…is she here now?" It was really all he could think of, not to mention it might help to convince him further.

She swallowed the berry and sighed, shaking her head too. "I lost her too." She started to go quiet and, and right as Floyd was about to try and change the subject to avoid another meltdown she continued. "She went quiet right after I got my sight, I thought she was just mad at me first but it wasn't that."

But then something changed, her face changed as well as her train of thought. Could it be so simple? Could the answer really be that straightforward? The reason for this, she never noticed it but it was so damn obvious. This started when she got her sight back… "I lost her when I could see…" Daria said. "Kasey told me that to hear her guide she had to become blind; that she couldn't when she could see." She pieced it all together, Floyd still tried to understand what she had told her before all this, she had already moved on to another topic so he was yet to catch up!

"Ok…" Floyd said, trying to seem like he understood this. And who was Kasey?! Daria only gunned him down with a simple look that saw straight through his lie.

"What if that was it though?" She queried whilst looking at him, despite the fact he didn't understand any of what she said. "To speak to them I have to be blind."

"But you're not anymore." Floyd stated. "Daria it's ok, you can get through this if you…"

"I've got to go back." She said and quickly standing. "I need the witch to reverse what she did to me."

"What? You can't be serious, you just got back!" Floyd exclaimed.

"Floyd I've got to get back there, how else can I do it?" She turned back to him and snapped, a side he rarely saw of her.

"Daria, you've been given a chance here to live a full life, are you really going to throw it all away?"

"My life can't be complete unless I have mom back, and she can tell me what's happened to Callen." This talk wasn't working for Floyd; a new tact was needed for this.

"Well what about getting there, do you remember which way it is?"

"East." She answered. "There's a lake to cross, then there's a territory to go around and then it's a straight shot to that fast flowing river and waterfall before…" Her mind went blank; it was that moment her sight was restored, so further beyond then to the swamps she didn't have a clue. Sure, her memory was good, but this was days ago, a route she had only taken once, there was no time to memorise the path they took. She didn't know where to go. "See, you can't go back, it's too dangerous, and I won't let you."

"Then…I won't get to hear her again." She said softly, defeated. "She can't sing me to sleep after nightmares, she won't be there when you're not." Now she was the one who needed a new tac-tic. She NEEDED to hear her mother's voice again!

She looked back, rubbed her paw in dirt to gather it and rubbed it in her face, concentrating on her eyes. She did this violently and quickly, knowing Floyd would say something or try to stop her. She flicked the dirt and the dust up, rubbing her face into the ground to damager her eyes. Of course this didn't work, but she wasn't going to stop trying. Something had to give sooner or later.

Floyd of course could stand to see the young she-wolf he came to love self-harm herself like this. He moved in quickly and held her leg to steady her. "Daria stop." She simply shoved him away and moved deeper into the den, there was more dirt back there. There she continued to furiously wiped and force dirt into her eyes to do something to try. She' pause every few moments to see if anything changed. Nope, she carried on trying harder and harder. Again, Floyd rushed over to her and held her head to stop her and once more Daria pushed him away. This time with more force and pain as one of his pins pierced her cheek. She yelped and Floyd picked himself up, he didn't realise she was this strong, it defiantly surprised him. "Daria, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to, but you've got to stop this."

She plucked the long pine out but she didn't throw it away, she starred at it. The amount of times she pulled these out of herself, she thought she was used to it. They could do some damage, but she guessed that was the point, a layer of protection to do some harm. So long, thing…sharp. Daria looked back to the berry branch, dashing over to it and breaking the smaller twigs to reveal the goal underneath. The branch was almost bear when she then it into the end and twisted it, finally, the end was now pointed. She touched it and it hurt, it was sharpened to perfection. She looked to her spikey guardian who couldn't believe what she wanted to do. "Floyd, I don't want you to see this. Get out."

"Daria please don't do this; you can get over it. There's no need for any of this."

"I want to hear mom again; this is the only way." She said. "Don't come back until I say." He couldn't believe she was really going to do this as he walked up to her. She was indeed traumatised by what had happened clearly. He kissed her cheek, he knew once she had her mind set on something it was nearly impossible to turn her from it. And although he couldn't bear to think of her doing such a thing, he didn't want to be around to see it or hear it. She was a chanced wolf now. He turned and left in a hurried pace, not wanting to be anywhere near the cave.

Daria at least gave him some time to get away before thinking this over, really finding the courage to take the plunge. "This isn't going to be easy for you, kiddo." No, it really wasn't, Kasey was right. Did she somehow know of this, of everything? She said everything came as a price, even her own mother said this right before. Was this always going to be the outcome? To lose everything and dive into this without the certainty it will work? It made hence she thought as she moved closer to the stick, eyeing its pointed end. Both she and Kasey needed to be blind to hear their spiritual guardians, Kasey couldn't before, she sacrificed it. Daria's eye was now only an inch away now, her heart raced and her head flooded with thoughts of how much this was going to hurt. The longer she paused the more she wanted to back out, she knew this, so there was only way to get this done, and that was now.

Floyd was a well over one hundred paces away from the cave, he couldn't see it if he looked back, he wanted distance before he heard what he did. Suddenly his ears perked to faint screams, agonized, piercing screams belonging to Daria. He panted, groaning loudly and blocked his ears to try and block out the noise. He wasn't doing his job, she wouldn't let him, damn that teenager! This wasn't the end of it though, that one scream lasted a while, but she had two eyes, another was sure to come soon.

The pain was indescribable, nothing she has experienced so far could compare. But it was now done, what seemed to take an eternity was finally over and the damage was done. She cried loudly, curling up with her back to the cave entrance on the floor with her eyes clamped shut. She could feel the blood running down her cheeks, two little streams mixed in with the tears. It had certainly worked, becoming blind again, deeply scratching her eyes to a severe extent. She needed a minute though, she had to wait a moment to adjust and settle down.

"Mom?" She cried. "Mom are you there?" She lifted her head, waiting for an answer. She took another moment before mustering the strength and energy to sit up, still keeping her eyes clamped shut not wanting Floyd to walk in and see the state of her. "Mom?" She tried again this time a little louder. "Can anyone here me?" It never took her long to answer before, or show a sign. She focused so hard on hearing something that she wasn't focusing on the pain anymore. Her plan failed, there wasn't a sound, a voice or a sign it worked. She dropped her head, quietly sobbing and unsure what to do now.

The bloodied tears continued to fall around her eyes and down her cheek, tingling as it brushed her fur there. Or was it? It was unclear to say, but the more she started to remember the pain, the less she felt it. The tingling grew more intense, or was it the crying? She felt warm, face more than anything. She looked up at hearing movement. "Floyd?" She tried opening her eyes in hopes of seeing him. "I told you not to come." But she couldn't see anything, only that cloud she always did. "Wha…" She couldn't finish her gasp, surely she'd either see a little or complete darkness, right? What was this? She felt her cheek, dry, no damp and no blood by the feeling of it. Most importantly, no pain.

"Now I tell ya, I never expected that." A voice chuckled. It wasn't Floyd, there was only one voice that sounded like that and it was far better than any other voice she could hear right now.

"Callen?" She gasped.

"And I tell you something else." He continued. "I can see where you get your looks from, your mom is just as wonderful." He laughed again.

It worked, all of that and it worked. She laughed, but cried as well, all from happiness. He was there, really there as if he was standing in the cave with her. Of course he wasn't, but now she could talk to him again. She started to cry more than laugh, going back to sitting down to brace and steady herself more. "Hey, calm down now." He took a more serious and softer tone. "Everything's alright; your eyes are fine now. A cool trick your mom actually taught me."

"Callen I'm so sorry." She sobbed. "It's all my fault, if I hadn't left home then you'd be ok and…"

"And I wouldn't have met you." He finished. "Daria you're incredible, everything you did to get this far, you're brave to do what you just did. I can't think of anyone who could do what you've done in the last week, and blind!"

"But I…"

"Made me find the home I've been looking for. I' spent over half a year looking to settle down, and now I finally have. I'm happy, and now I can live it out with you too."

"What about my mom though? Where is she?" Daria began to calm down, questions coming to mind more than anything.

"She's resting too, but we've kind of swapped roles. The old girl needed rest, she used so much energy to get you this far."

"Swapped roles?"

"I can protect you here, at home, it's trickier outside the forest."

"So if those wolves came to find me…"

"No-one is going to hurt you while I'm here." Callen chuckled.

"Then can you help me?" She stood up again, walking forwards towards the cave entrance.

"With what?" He was intrigued. Sure, he could do a lot of things, but mind reading wasn't one of them. She felt him walk alongside her, continuing to stay with her like he promised and listen to her.

"Lois." She said. "I promised I'd go back and find her, if mom can't now, she's the only one who can tell me everything that happened to her. I need to find her."

"You can't go." He said. "I can't protect you that far, I'm not as strong as your mom was. I can't let you leave the forest. It's not safe out there."

"Then I'll wait, an opportunity will come, something will come up. I can't leave her there though, and I need you."

"So persistent." He chuckled again. "Maybe one day, but for now, it's just me and you."

So you see, everything comes at a price, and that price even has a price. A ripple effect it's called, one thing causes something and it just carries on. Things are like it for a reason, you are born the way you are meant to be and events happen because they are meant to. Some grand design I suppose, everything was planned out at the start, some are good and some are bad. But hey, deal with it. I was born blind, and when I was told I could get it back I did and everything went wrong. This was because I went against the plan, I changed it, and because of that I lost my best friend and my mother. Because of my foolish ambitions I destroyed everything and changed myself. I experienced loneliness for the first time in my life, it was the worst feeling I can describe. I never want it again, and I press anyone hearing this to heed my words. When you're like me it's hard to be alone, but most aren't and would travel great distances to feel loved and at home. Being able to see was the worst thing that could ever have happened to me because _Never Have I Felt More Alone Then When I was Without Those That I Could Not See._

 **And that Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, is the start to my retirement! *Party poppers, round of applause, confetti* This is probably the longest it's ever taken me to complete a story, thanks work and social life! Now to answer the question of why did I kill off Callen. In the movie, when I looked at the wolf ghost I never thought of it as a female. It looks like a guy! As I said, I was ending this story to how I saw and thought of the movie, and in my eyes Callen needed to be the spirit in the movie. Sorry for those who didn't want it to be this.**

 **Anyway, I need to thank the persistency of my partner in crime Bastard from North for getting me this far. And if he gets his way, which he won't, who knows, maybe I'll be back here one day. For now, I gradually going to be finishing off re-doing my Starnik Series over on FictionPress, so any fans please go and have a look. Only six chapters into the first series right now so the morale would be appreciated.**

 **Thank you all for reading my story "A Vision for Sight" , thank you for being my friend though it and all the amazing comments and I'd love to hear what you think of it all in a Review or a PM, I love chatting. lol**

 **Until Next Time ;)**

 ** _The FalconWolf_**


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